Rainfall
by Soniclink137
Summary: The kidnapping of three shaymin kids before the Flower Festival has Team Aura sent to stop those outlaws and rescue those kids. During the mission, memories of an old friend Shaymin lost to resurface, giving him conflicting feelings. Now Shaymin must figure out who he is and what he is to do if he wants to rescue the kids. A Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers Story.
1. A Kidnapping

It was nearly time for the shaymin's flower festival. The Shaymin Village in Sky Peak was a buzz with activity, shaymin running across the grassy village in a chaotic mess. Team Aura watched the chaotic actions of the tiny hedgehogs with various emotions to the activities that was going on. Axle, a riolu, had his arms crossed and was leaning on one of the huts with one leg, looking at them with confusion, while his partner, and eevee named Eon, looked like she wanted to help, but didn't know how to ask.

Eventually, their team member that brought them there came running around close to the two of them, allowing Eon to finally talk to him.

"Uhh, Shaymin?" Eon asked. "I know you said you're here for the Flower Festival, but what exactly is going on around here? Why all the…running around?"

"It's a festival, Eon," Axle said. "They're probably working on setting it up."

"Yes and no Axle," Eon said. "The shaymin's Flower Festival is where they all gather into a Gracidea field somewhere and spread its pollen to another fertile field. It's how they spread their flowers across the world."

"Yeah, the festival part comes afterwards," Shaymin said in a hurried voice. "Right now we gotta make sure everyone's here and accounted for. This is the one time where we get a large number of shaymin gathering together. So we like to get an idea of how many shaymin are living around here so those that are going can take that count to everyone else. We like to use this to figure out how many of us are in the world."

"How many shaymin are there?" Eon asked. "I mean, you guys are the first Mythical Pokémon I've seen multiple of."

"There's not a lot of us," Shaymin admitted. "We are Mythical Pokémon after all. We're also not born like most Pokémon either. But I guess we do have a lot more than most Pokémon think we do. There are around a hundred of us, give or take, mostly take. Can't tell you the exact number until after the festival."

"Now if you'll excuse me," Shaymin said before flying off.

"I'm still confused," Axle said as he watched the deer-like grass-type fly off.

"I know a bit more thanks to what Shaymin told me," Eon said. "If I understood him right, basically there are two type of shaymin in the world. There are the ones who live in small communities like this and the more nomadic shaymin who walk around the world. No matter who's who though, they all have an instinct that leads them to the Flower Festival. And I…guess if what Shaymin said is right, they also take this time to figure out their population."

"And they're having this much trouble?" Axle asked. "I haven't seen more than…around 20 shaymin living in this village. How hard could it be to figure out where everyone is?"

"We're not sure where three shaymin are," a passing land-forme shaymin said. "Those three are really young too. Nobody's seen them at all since last night."

"Anyone check Sky Peak?" Eon asked.

"Drifblim and Shroomish haven't seen anything," the grass-type answered, "but we're still sending a couple of flyers to check out Sky Peak just in case. Now if you'll excuse me." The shamyin quickly ran off.

"I imagine it's not easy to find a Pokémon that can be easily mistaken for a bed of flowers," Axle said to no one in particular. "Then again, it's also difficult to tell these shaymin apart when they only have two different forms and they all use the same name."

"I'm sure they have some way of differentiating each other," Eon said. "Most Pokémon do have subtle ways of telling each other apart. Unfortunately, I don't know what that is for shaymin. I wish I did so I could help, but…"

Axle thought about it for a couple of minutes. "…There is one way. Can you get the villagers to calm down? Tell them to try and bring us any personal objects the three missing shaymin have."

Eon's eyes widened. "Your Dimensional Scream! Of course. I can't believe I didn't think of that."

Eon stepped forward and waited a couple of seconds for the shaymin to be in a good position to hear her, and for their teammate Shaymin to be within hearing distance, before Eon yelled out to all the grass-types. "Hey, you guys!" All the shaymin in hearing range looked in Eon's direction at the sound of her voice. More confidently, Eon said, "We might have a way to find the three missing kids! If any of you can bring any objects belonging to those three and give them to my partner, that might help!"

All the shaymin who were listening looked at each other with confused glances. A few of them even chatted amongst themselves, though it was soft enough that neither Axle nor Eon could make out what they were saying. They had a good guess of the subject matter of the conversations made, though, and they all pointed towards doubt. Luckily Shaymin realized exactly what his partners were saying, so he landed on the ground in front of the crowd and spoke to them.

"My friends aren't lying," the grass/flying-type said. "That riolu over there has a special ability that lets him see either the past of the future related to an object that he touches. I know it sounds unbelievable (trust me, I didn't believe it at first either), but it's actually true."

The shaymin all looked at each other before five of them went in three different directions towards their houses. After a couple of minutes, those five shaymin finally returned with small bags. Those shaymin, three of them in Land Forme, two in Sky Forme, all came up to Axle and Eon with their bags. The Sky/Land Forme couple gave Axle and Eon a small red/pink pedal-patterned blanket, the two Land Forme shaymin gave Axle a bouquet of flowers, and finally the single Sky Forme shaymin gave them a small orb.

"Make sure to be careful with that," the shy shaymin who gave the orb said. "That's a Grassy Orb my son got from the previous elder of the village. He normally never lets it leave his side."

"I only need to touch them," Axle assured them.

Axle placed his right paw on the orb first. While feeling the smooth cold glass on his furred skin, Axle closed his eyes and took deep breaths. He waited for when the headaches would start, preparing himself not to reject it but to let it through as smoothly as possible. He waited one breath, two breaths, three, until the familiar feeling of his head splitting open as something forced itself in came to him.

 _Alright, here it comes,_ Axle thought, his right arm instinctively moving from the orb to his forehead. _The Dimensional Scream._

* * *

 _Axle's vision was in the middle of the night, so it was just about as dark as it was with his eyes closed. He could tell his vision took him to the middle of the field, but it was too dark to get any context to where the field was. Also as a consequence, Axle noticed two figures just outside of where he could see, but the two were drowned in shadows, so Axle couldn't even figure out what species they were. At least he was able to listen to the two talk._

" _How long until she gets here?" the one asked in a gruff voice. "Come on already! Dawn's breaking soon!"_

" _Patience," the other voice said._

" _Do you want a village of angry Mythical Pokémon coming after us?!" the first voice asked. "Once someone notices we kidnaped those kids we'll have those guys swarming at us in no time!"_

" _Quiet," the second voice said without changing his pitch at all._

" _What is she doing anyways? Climbing that dang mountain?"_

" _My business is my business," a third voice, this one feminine, said. The two shadowy figures looked back to another figure that Axle couldn't even see from where he was. "Aren't you two supposed to be doing something right now? Like taking those kids to our hideout? You don't have to wait for me."_

" _Are you sure these three will lead us to the treasure that the shaymin are guarding?" the first voice asked. "These three are really young. Don't you think they might be too young?"_

" _Let me worry about the details," the third voice said. "You two worry about getting out of here. And be gentle with those kids!"_

* * *

Consciousness returned to Axle as his vision ended. When Axle did regain consciousness and opened his eyes, he noticed that he was kneeling on the ground with his left paw on the ground and his right paw on his forehead. He also felt something touching his back, which he turned back to look at. From his gaze he saw Eon there, placing her right paw on his back.

"You suddenly fell to the ground during your vison," Eon said as an explanation. "Are you ok, Axle?"

"Y-yeah," Axle said as he stood up. When he did, Eon finally placed her paw off him. Axle looked around at all the shaymin, making sure they were listening to him before speaking. "We've got a problem."

"Great," Shaymin groaned, rolling his eyes. "This sounds fun. What'd you see?"

Axle crossed his arms. "I'm not completely sure of the details but…I know for sure they've been kidnapped."

Various shouts of "kidnapped!" ran throughout the crowd along with several other panicked conversations. Eon and Shaymin were the only ones not panicking, Eon trying in vain to stop the crowd from panicking while Shaymin looked at Axle with a concerned look, trying to get information. The riolu wasn't able to explain though, due to all the noise.

"Alright everyone, calm down!" Shaymin called out as he noticed Axle's frustration. "Let's listen to what Axle has to say! Come on you guys!"

Shaymin's voice calmed down most of the residents and those that were looked at Axle. Eon and Axle both breathed a sigh of relief that the noise from the village was lessened. With that out of the way, Axle took another gazing sweep of the villagers before continuing with what he had to say.

"It was too dark to really see anything, but there were three outlaws that did it," Axle said. "I could see the outlines of two of them but nothing distinct. Couldn't tell you what Pokémon they were. They were both male though. As for the third, she was a girl, but I know nothing beyond that."

"So we're looking for an outlaw team of two guys and a girl," Shaymin mused. "Ah, so many jokes to make, so little time. Let's see…so, who do you think are dating and who do you think's the third wheel?"

"I think we've got better things to worry about," Eon said.

"Yeah, you're right," Shaymin said, to the slight surprise of both Axle and Eon. "Anything else you got from your vision?"

"Uhh…" Axle took a moment to recover before he said, "I don't really get exactly what they said, but…is there some treasure that you guys are guarding? Something outside of Sky Peak? Because that's apparently what they're after. And they think kidnapping those kids will help them."

"Are you sure?" Shaymin asked. "I don't remember any treasures we're guarding outside of Sky Peak. Maybe the nomadic shaymin, but not us here. And I doubt a couple of kids would know any better than us."

"That's what they said," Axle confirmed. "I don't know what they meant, but that's what they said."

"Hmm…" Shaymin thought. He looked at the rest of the villagers who were looking at each other with confused looks as well.

"Maybe the village elder might know," Eon suggested.

"Hmm…old Hedge?" Shaymin asked. He immediately got dirty looks from the rest of the villagers, prompting him to quickly say, "I mean, Elder Shaymin?"

Axle looked at Shaymin inquiringly, but Eon answered before the grass/flying-type. "He probably uses his species name as a form of formality for his level of authority, thereby making it rude to refer to him by a more familiar name," she exposited. "Especially to outsiders like ourselves."

"Yeah, pretty much," Shaymin said. "Even though I knew the Elder from way back before he was an Elder."

Axle crossed his arms and grunted. "Do we really have time to worry about something like this?" he asked. "We want to find him as soon as possible, right?"

Shaymin chuckled. "Leave it to Axle to do something like this. I get your point though." He looked back at all the villagers. "Anyone know where old Elder Hedge is?"

"I'll go get him," one shaymin, the one looking the least offended right now, offered.

"As for the rest of you, try and find anything you can," Eon said. "Any clues or evidence you can find that will point us to the kidnapers would be helpful."

The rest of the shaymin looked begrudging to leave it like that, especially the parents of the kids that were kidnapped, but they all eventually dispersed with the idea that they could find some sort of clue to help. Eventually, it was only Axle, Eon, and Shaymin, waiting there for when the elder would come. It took a few minutes of waiting for them, but eventually a Land Forme shaymin came running and stopped right in front of the team.

"T-team Aura," the shaymin gasped out.

"Old Hedge," Shaymin said. "You hear what's happening."

"You…know…you…should…" Elder Hedge tried to gasp out to Shaymin, but had to stop mid-sentence to catch his breath.

"I apologize for saying this, but we don't have time for formalities," Axle said while the Elder was catching his breath. "In case you haven't noticed, there's serious trouble going around."

"Three…kids…kidnapped. Looking…for…treasure," Elder Hedge said, getting to the point.

"Yeah," Shaymin said with a nod. "Take a breath and if you know anything, please tell us. If we can figure out where they're heading, we might be able to capture them or get them to lead us to the kids."

Elder Hedge took a deep breath before he started talking. "There's an old story that's become a children's Fairy Tale as of late. Do you remember? The story of Clover the Adventurer?"

"…That old story?" Shaymin asked. "Yeah I…sorta remember it. Me and Sk…" Shaymin stopped for a moment, eyes widening in a shocked sadness. Axle and Eon both gave him a confused glance at his sudden silence.

Eventually Shaymin shook his head, snapping him out of his trance. "Sorry about that," he said. "Anyways, the story of Clover the Adventurer was something me and my friends talked about all the time when we were kids. Problem is, that was back when we were kids. Honestly, it's been years since I've heard the story and I can hardly remember it."

"I'm sorry, Clover the Adventurer?" Eon asked. "Who are we talking about?"

"Clover the Adventurer was a nomadic shaymin who went on adventures," Shaymin explained. "Kinda what the name implies. It's just one of those old adventurer tales that they tell kids. Eon, I'm sure you probably have some kids stories from your village as well."

"I suppose," Eon said with a nod.

"However," Elder Hedge said, bringing attention back to him. "While we don't know whether Clover existed, there is a rumor that her adventures will lead to a treasure. If they're searching for some sort of shaymin treasure, especially one that they need children for, that would be what they're searching for."

"Is that all you know?" Eon asked.

"I know what lines might help you," Elder Hedge said. "She had four adventures in distinct places. 'Within a tree from the beginning of time.' 'In a cave of absolute darkness.' 'Within the fiery maw.' 'The undersee ruins of an ancient civilization.' Those four settings are where most of her adventures take place."

Axle crossed his arms. "That's…not exactly helpful," he said. "Those descriptions could be about any number of places."

"It gives us a place to start," Eon said. "We should run this information across Chatot and Guildmaster Wigglytuff. See if they can help us figure out what those mean."

"Please hurry," Elder Hedge begged. "We've got several worried parents and the Flower Festival is coming up soon!"

"We'll get moving as fast as we can," Eon promised. "I can't say when we'll get done, since this could take us all over the world, but we'll try to get moving as fast as possible."

"Alright you guys, let's get moving!" Shaymin said. "To the guild now!"

Before even waiting for his partners, Shaymin flew off into the sky in the direction of Treasure Town. Axle and Eon both watched him fly off, amazed at his speed and how serious the shaymin was taking this situation. Eventually they both realized they should be moving, so they both nodded their goodbyes to the village elder before running after their partner.


	2. Preperation

When Axle and Eon finally made it back to Wigglytuff's Guild and into its bottom-first-floor, they noticed Shaymin beat them to it and was already talking to Chatot. The two partners were momentarily stunned that a conversation between Chatot and Shaymin was not going with Chatot yelling at the grass-type, but they both knew they had more important things to do. So the two walked up and Chatot immediately noticed them.

"Hello Axle and Eon," Chatot said. "As you can probably surmise, your friend Shaymin here is explaining the situation you're faced with. With surprising clarity, I might add."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Shaymin moaned. "So can you help or not?"

Chatot sighed and looked at Shaymin. "I will alert officer Magnazone about the situation at once. Beyond that, however, I don't know how much help I'll be. Especially at interpreting that Clever's…"

"Clover's," Shaymin corrected.

Chatot just rolled his eyes. "Alright, Clover's stories. They could be just pure fantasy for all we know. We could be looking on completely the wrong track."

"We've thought of that," Axle admitted, "but in all honestly, we don't have much else to go on. I wasn't able to see the kidnappers that well in my vision, so we don't really have that to go by. So this is all we can really think of to go on. They're clearly on a treasure hunt and this is the only treasure we can think of that they could be going for."

"Well, I'll try to be of some assistance anyways," Chatot said. "Now, what are the hints you gained?"

Eon explained to Chatot the four phrases the shaymin elder told them. The Music Note Pokémon closed his eyes for a few seconds as he pondered those phrases. After a few minutes of thinking, by which Shaymin had his mouth open ready to push him, Chatot opened his eyes again.

"These are unfortunately vague," Chatot said.

"Yeah…we know," Eon said. "But it's really all we've got. Can you help us at least come up with some ideas of where to look?"

"I have…some ideas." Chatot walked up to the right side of the room where Chimecho was working. After a quick chat between the two, Chimecho moved a piece of paper towards Chatot, which he grabbed with his wing. Chatot quickly hopped back to Team Aura and laid out the paper in front of them.

"Wait is that…" Eon said breathlessly. "Is that a map of the world?!"

The paper itself showed the region Team Aura was so familiar with on the far right bottom of the map. But also within the map there were two other regions, one to the north and the other to the west of the map. Both regions looked strange from the eyes of Team Aura almost as if…

"This map is incomplete," Axle stated.

"Unfortunate, but yes," Chatot said. "We know all about our continent here, partly thanks to you guys, partly thanks to the multiple explorers on this continent. We also have a decent knowledge of nearby islands around this area. Finally, we know a great deal about the continent north to us. But when it comes to the entire world, we have less experience on it. We know of a continent to the west of us, but we know little about it. And we suspect there are a few other continents in this world as well thanks to some off-hand remarks from Kecleon and some undetailed reports from explorers. But we don't know anything else about this world."

"Why's that?" Shaymin asked.

"Because oversea explorations are costly, time consuming, and much more dangerous then exploring on this continent," Chatot said. "Those that do will often keep that information to themselves instead of spreading it with others, as too keep nosey explorers from the untapped treasures on those continents. A vast ocean is hard to navigate and find areas in with any consistency. As for the continent to our west, there is a large desert sprawling just beyond the waters that is currently impassible. It's unfortunate, but this is really all we know about the world."

"Sorry, but if you're asking us to help complete it, we honestly don't have time now," Shaymin said. "We've got shaymin to rescue!"

"No, I merely have this map to show you possible locations of where you could look," Chatot said. "First, let's start with 'the tree from the beginning of time. This could mean a few different things. The only tree that we assume could have existed since the beginning of time would be the legendary Tree of Life. However, whether such a thing exists in the first place is beyond us, let alone how to get to it. So I would instead look towards the Elder Woods."

"The where now?" Axle asked. "And what's this about a Tree of Life?"

"The Tree of Life is said to be a tree where all life energy comes from," Eon explained. "Legend has it that the Legendary Pokémon Xerneas resides there, protecting the tree so that the life energy flowing to this planet doesn't cease. But beyond that, we don't really know much about it. The tree is only spoken of in ancient legends."

"Therefore, that's likely not where it is," Chatot interrupted. "Or if it is, and our adversaries somehow find it, then we can at least rest assured that our adversaries have an unlikely chance of getting it. I can't imagine the Legendary Pokémon Xerneas would let a group of thieves pass into the tree."

"So back to the Elder Woods then," Shaymin said. "Where are they?"

"This is the closest one to here, so we should start there first," Chatot said. "Do you remember the many trees that were before Crystal Cave?"

Axle and Eon both glanced at each other before nodding. "Yeah, we do," Eon said, looking back at Chatot. "It kinda made the cave a bit difficult to find in the first place. Is it there?"

"Yes," Chatot said. "If you were to go around the cave you would eventually find yourself in some woods that we assume leads all the way to the coast. The woods aren't that massive, however they are quite large. It's part of what made Crystal Cave hard to find for early explores in the first place. It's also large enough that someone exploring around there might consider the woods to have been there 'since the beginning of time.' The natural spring water it gets from Crystal Lake might be responsible for that."

"There was also once a Time Gear there," Axle speculated. "'Beginning of Time' and all that."

"Alright, we've got out place, can we go there now?" Shaymin asked impatiently. "Sorry you guys, but we really need to go now! We need to catch those kidnappers and save those shaymin kids as fast as possible."

"We know Shaymin, and we want to rescue the kids as fast as possible too," Eon said. "But we can't just run in blindly. The more we know, the easier it will be to find the kids."

"I know of two other possible area for now," Chatot said. "It'd be best to have a backup plan should the first area either be not be what we're looking for, or should they beat you to it. The rest I will have to do research on."

Shaymin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah, sorry," he said much more calmly. "I'm just…a little on edge with those kids missing. I know a couple of them and I'd hate for something bad to happen to those poor kids. But you're right. We need to be thoughtful about this. Those kids are depending on it." Shaymin opened his eyes back up. "Alright Chatot, what's next. That weird 'cave of absolute darkness?'"

"Black Hole Caverns," Chatot said. "A system of caves that are said to suck up all light within them, making it pitch black. It's not going to be an easy place to navigate, but you might not have much of a choice."

"Sounds like a fun place," Shaymin said.

"A Luminous Orb is no help either," Chatot said. "Using one will give you a brief flash of light, but not enough to navigate for any length of time. And once the flash is over, you're back in the dark. It won't be an easy place to look through. You'll be stuck in a labyrinth with no easy way to see. Enemies there have no problem, however, as they've adapted to the dark and will attack you from seemingly nowhere."

"Are you trying to tell us something, Chatot?" Shaymin asked, unamused. "No, you're not going to stop us from going."

"I'm just warning you what you should expect!" Chatot said, exasperated. "Would you rather me tell you nothing and leave you guys be unprepared?!"

"Thanks Chatot," Eon said quickly to break the two up. "This information should be helpful."

"We have one advantage," Axle said. "My X-Ray Specs and aura senses should give us a decent idea of where we are and what's around us."

"And Swift never misses, so I should be able to hit any enemies we come across so long as Axle points them out," Eon compounded. "This won't be easy, but we'll make it! So Chatot, where is it?"

Chatot placed a wing on the continent to the north of where they were. "You'll find it here," Chatot said. "It's within a canyon known for its impressive size that makes it difficult for us to cross the land between the towns to the north and any southern landing points. While the canyon itself elevates higher, Black Hole Cave goes deep underground. You'll need to be ready to cross the sea in order to reach it."

"Alright, thank you for your help," Axle said.

"So what about 'within the Fiery Maw'?" Shaymin asked.

Chatot looked between Axle and Eon, and the riolu picked up on exactly what the Guild's head of intelligence was about to say. "…I'd ask whether you are joking or not, but I imagine you aren't," Axle said, his arms crossing and a scowl on his face.

Eon also came to the same realization. "Wait…you're not…the Dark Crater?!" Eon asked. "Are you serious?!"

"I'm not feeling in a particularly jovial mood," Chatot said bluntly.

"'Dark…Crater…'" Shaymin sounded out in his head. "Why's that name sound familiar."

"…It's the place where we fought Darkrai," Axle said. "Eon, Cresselia, and I. I should have guessed that's what 'within the Fiery Maw' meant. After all, it goes underground and it certainly felt like I was being swallowed when going through that place."

Realization hit Shaymin's face, and he immediately became silent. He knew Axle and Eon's experience with the Lord of Nightmares and didn't want to pry any further.

Eon began shivering. "T-that place. B-but…we were there! We were there and we didn't see anything! There was nothing at the end of that place!"

"I'm not saying that's exactly it," Chatot said quickly, noticing how uncomfortable Axle and Eon were. "I'm just saying, with the clues that we're given, that's where the story might be talking about."

"…Thank you for telling us this information," Axle said, quickly changing the subject. "We'll start searching for those outlaws now.

Chatot sighed before rolled up the map and placed it within his wing again. "I will continue searching for possibilities as to where the story could be pointing to," the flying-type said. "You might find the kidnappers in either of those three areas, but it's still best to be prepared for the worst case scenario."

"So that leaves us to prepare," Axle said. The riolu faced Eon first. "Eon, I want you to head to Kangaskhan and get what items and equipment we need. I'll let you handle that, as I'm sure you will."

"Might take me a couple minutes though," Eon said. "If we are going to a dangerous place I want to be sure we've got everything we need."

Axle nodded. "I know you, Eon. You'll do just fine."

Facing Shaymin, Axle said, "Shaymin, I want you to fly over to Lapras and have him go over to the coast north of Crystal Cave. If we don't find anything at the Elder Woods, then we should head over to the Black Hole Caverns immediately, and that'll be much easier with Lapras already there waiting for us."

"Not a bad idea actually," Shaymin said. "Alright, I'm on it. What about you, leader?"

"I'll talk to Officer Magnazone before we go," Axle said. "Even if I wasn't able to see the kidnappers that well, I should still give him a description as best as I can. Anything to help the investigation. …Plus I want him to station a guard at the Dark Crater. The less I have to see of that place, the better."

"Thank you," Eon said breathlessly.

"Let's meet up at the crossroads when we're done," Axle finished.

"Alright," Both Eon and Shaymin said. With that talk out of the way, the trio all ran up and out of the guild in order to do their respective tasks.


	3. Seeds of Conflict

With tasks completed and equipment on, Team Aura all walked their way north to where Crystal Cave and Elder Woods lay waiting for them. After a long walk the trio stood there, waiting in front of the vast woods in front of them. Axle adjusted his blue goggles that he had on his forehead before putting them over his eyes, looking into the forest with his X-Ray Specs.

"See anything?" Eon asked.

Axle looked for a few seconds at the tinted forest before putting his goggles back up on his forehead. "No, not really," Axle said. "Not yet anyways. Doubt it's going to stay that way for long though."

Axle turned back to look at his two teammates. Eon was wearing her blue Defense Scarf with the Relic Fragment's symbol embroidered in silver while Shaymin was wearing his Purify Veil. Eon had their brown bag to her side while Axle could feel his blue bag snug at his own side, full of items. The team was ready for an exploration.

"Alright, I suppose we're all set," Axle said. "Let's get moving."

The trio walked into the forest with relative ease. Despite the light being quickly blocked out by the treetops, the trio were able to navigate through the forest well enough. There, Axle tool the lead with Eon directly behind him and Shaymin a bit father back and to Axle's left. There they walked through the tall woods with Axle remaining constantly vigilant throughout their walk.

At first, nothing much happened. They were able to walk through the trees with incredible ease and the forest itself seemed rather quiet. Shaymin even made a couple of jokes about how easy thing were going for them while they were walking. Eventually, though, Axle held out his paw behind him, which Eon ran into. This signaled her to stop, which made Shaymin also realize that he should stop.

"…There's enemies coming," Axle said.

Eon was shocked into silence for a moment before nodding. "I guess we should have saw this coming," she said. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Are you feeling ok?" Axle asked.

Eon sighed, knowing exactly what he was getting at. "I'll be fine Axle. I know I'm still not as maneuverable as I was before…'that little event'…happened a while back. I haven't fully healed from being hit by Rayquaza's Hyper Beam. But I promised myself and you that I wouldn't let that stop me from exploring. And I'm definitely not going to let it stop me here. So don't worry Axle, I'll be fine."

"I know you will be," Axle said assuredly. "But if you're feeling off at all while we're fighting, tell me, ok? I don't want you hurting yourself."

"I will," Eon promised.

"Shall we get fighting then?" Shaymin asked, getting ready to take off. "How long until they reach us?"

"Couple of seconds," Axle said, getting in a crouching position. "They're almost here."

A gloom and a breloom came running out from behind the trees, the breloom running specifically at high speeds towards Team Aura while the gloom lagged behind. Axle nodded towards Shaymin, who caught his glance. The Mythical Pokémon took off immediately and flew over to the breloom. Before even a second passed, the grass-type shot an Air Slash at the breloom, knocking it out immediately with a strong, super effective hit.

With the attack on breloom happening, Axle and Eon both focused their attention on the gloom. Axle first rushed at the gloom to get in close and strike. The gloom fired a barrage of Sludge Bombs at Axle to impede his progress, but Eon counter that by firing Swift at all of the green gunk being fired at Axle. They all exploded on contact with the golden stars fired from Eon's mouth, allowing Axle to rush through unimpeded and giving him the cover needed to get over there. Axle made it to the gloom easily, his paws sheathed in shadowy claws, and he sliced at the gloom with his Shadow Claw attack. The gloom itself was knocked down instantly from Axle's overpowering attack.

"Well that's a wrap," Shaymin said nonchalantly. "Pfft, one shot? Man, these guys are weak." However, when he looked at Axle, he noticed that the riolu was down on his knees. The grass/flying-type quickly flew over to his side, Eon following closely behind.

"Hey Axle, you ok?" Shaymin asked.

"Purify Veil," Axle knew was all he needed to say to convey the situation. And indeed, Shaymin immediately placed a paw on Axle's shoulder, the pink veil he wore as a scarf starting to shimmer. Eventually, Axle could feel his sickness flow to his shoulder and out of his body. With that, the riolu was able to breathe easier.

"The poison should be gone now," Shaymin said. "Thanks for the health by the way. But I'd rather it not come at the cost of you."

"What happened anyways?" Eon asked. "I thought I hit all the Sludge Bombs."

"You're still learning how to control Swift," Axle said calmly. "Don't blame yourself. Only one hit me and I was still able to get through. It was healed quickly enough anyways and the attack was hardly that strong anyways. I'll be fine."

Eon rolled her eyes. "Fine according to your standards, or mine?" Eon asked.

"Exactly," Axle answered with a nod.

"Hey, it's not like those two were tough anyways," Shaymin said. "If this is all we're going to face here, this dungeon'll be a snap."

"Don't get too cocky Shaymin," Axle said. "We've still got a large amount of dungeon to traverse through and possibly three outlaws at the end of it. We've still got a long way to go."

"Pfft, we can handle it," Shaymin said. "We've handled worse. There's nothing those outlaws can do to stop Team Aura!"

Shaymin flew off further into the dungeon, leaving Axle and Eon in the wake of his flight. Both of them caught each other's glance and sighed at the same time. Not to be too far left behind, the two started their way in the direction Shaymin flew off in.

While walking their way, Eon asked, "Why do I get the feeling Shaymin just jinxed us?"

Axle stopped for a few seconds to look into the sky. "Because missions like these never go as well as we'd like."

* * *

Team Aura continued on their way through the dungeon with relative ease. Despite enemies appearing every once in a while, just like with the previous gloom and breloom, Team Aura was able to take them down with relative ease. They were similarly met with a number of grass-type, which Shaymin was able to take down easily with a simple Air Slash. And what Shaymin couldn't take down on his own, Axle and Eon could combine their power to take it down.

As such, they quickly made it to the end of the dungeon. The trio eventually ended up exiting the greater forest and ended up within a small clearing. The sunlight poured down from clearings in the trees and the forest was much brighter here then the dungeon itself was. And from how bright the forest was, they could easily see a large tree that was much larger than any other tree in the entire forest.

"This must be the Elder Tree," Eon said as she looked at its huge size. "I…can't believe it. It's massive!"

"It's not called the Elder Tree for nothing," Axle said in agreement as he crossed his arms. "So, what now?"

"The legend says it's 'within the tree from the beginning of time' or something like that," Shaymin reminded the team. "So I guess we find a way inside the tree? Let's get closer for now."

The three of them nodded before walking their way towards the tree. As they did, they ended up seeing a small opening in the base if the tree, created from a split between two large roots. The trio all rolled their eyes as they looked over the entrance to the tree.

"Well…this was difficult," Axle said.

"Up the tree then?" Shaymin asked.

"Let me check it out first," Axle said. "Shouldn't be too difficult to see what we can expect from here."

Axle held out his right palm and closed his eyes for a few seconds. His black aura sensors on the side of his head lifted up as he scanned the tree with his aura. Taking deep breaths, Axle continued examining the tree for a few seconds until his sensors dropped and he opened his eyes. Axle immediately crouched into a battle stance.

"We've got company about to exit the tree," Axle said.

"Got any idea who they are?" asked Eon as she and Shaymin followed their leader into getting ready for battle.

"No, but it can't be good," Axle said. "Especially since they don't seem Wild."

"Wait…you think…?" Shaymin asked.

"It's just a feeling," Axle said. "But here we go."

Two Pokémon that Axle couldn't particularly recognize eventually made it out of the gap in between the roots. One of them was bipedal and simian-like, almost looking like a larger chimchar with green pants, tail, and large green hair to Axle. The second was a quadruped that looked similar to a goat only with a leafy pelt along its neck, back, and tail. From their expressions Axle could see the energy within the simian Pokémon and a more reserved attitude from the goat-like Pokémon. That corresponded with the auras he sensed from the tree as well.

"Eon, what Pokémon are they?" Axle asked the more intelligent one of the group.

"Gogoat and simisage, if I'm right," Eon whispered back. "Neither of them are particularly common around here."

"Makes them all the more suspicious," Shaymin whispered.

Axle nodded before nonchalantly walking over to the two Pokémon carefully, without changing his expression. Eon and Shaymin also followed suit, both keeping up their guard as well as they walked. Axle eventually made it close enough to the two Pokémon for them to notice him.

"Hello you two," Axle said. "Nice day today, isn't it?"

"Who the heck are you three," the simisage asked. He looked over at the trio and his eyes eventually passed onto angry shaymin, at which point he took a step back. The simisage whispered to the gogoat quietly, to the point where it was so quiet that Axle doubled his friends could hear him. Axle could though.

"They're traveling around with a shaymin, Gogoat," the simisage whispered. "What do we do?"

"Calm down Simisage," Gogoat whispered back. "Be ready to fight, but calm down. We don't have time to confront them if we can avoid it."

"Right."

Axle himself took a step back to whisper to his friends himself, "It's them," Axle said.

"You positive?" Eon asked. "How can you tell?"

"I recognize their voices from my Dimensional Scream," Axle answered. "It's them. I'm positive. Don't know where the third one is, but we've at least got these two."

"Good," Shaymin said.

The grass/flying-type immediately flew up ahead of Axle and glared at the two kidnappers. "Hey you two, we're looking for a couple of kidnappers. They look about like you two, sound like you two, are you two. You wouldn't have happened to see anyone like that, have you?"

"How the heck do you know?!" Simisage asked. Gogoat rolled his eyes.

"Well, you telling us helps," Shaymin said. Simisage took a step back out of surprise while Gogoat groaned.

Axle and Eon both walked to Shaymin's sides, Axle on his left while Eon was on his right. Eon pointed to the outlaws with her right paw and said, "Alright you two, tell us where the kids you kidnapped are now!"

"We're not…" Simisage started, but Gogoat walked in front of him and interrupted him.

"Fine. We'll fight," Gogoat said. "Let's get this over with."

The gogat raised his from two hooves high into the sky before slamming them back down into the ground. When he did that, the ground under Team Aura began shaking violently. Shaymin was completely unaffected by it, but Axle and Eon were stuck on the shifting ground, taking all the damage that came their way. Luckily, Simisage also took the blow from the shaking ground, however he resisted it, so it wasn't as visibly effective on him as it was on Axle and Eon.

"E-Eon, get on Shaymin and away from the Earthquake!" Axle commanded. "I'll be fine, just go!"

Eon didn't even protest as she quickly jumped on Shaymin's white back. Shaymin lifted her up into the sky until he was a few yards above the ground. From their position on high, Eon launched a Shadow Ball at the same time Shaymin launched an Air Slash, both moves flying straight at the Gogoat. They both collided with him, forcing him to stop his Earthquake attack. With that done, Shaymin landed on the ground next to a kneeling Axle, allowing Eon to get off as well.

"Axle, you feeling alright?" Eon asked.

"According to my standards or yours?" Axle asked. He got from his knees back onto his feet. "Regardless, I'll survive. Let's go on the offensive everyone!"

Axle ran up to the simisage as quickly as he could with his paws out and ready for the attack. Simisage countered by trying to throw a Seed Bomb at Axle, but the riolu was quickly able to dodge around it and continue his way over to the grass simian. Axle quickly placed his left paw on Simisage while drawing his aura energy to his right paw. A split-second later, still using the momentum from his run, Axle launched a powerful Force Palm that sent Simisage back into the tree with a loud smack.

"I wouldn't have recommended fighting us, but it's too late now," Axle said calmly. "If you're not going to tell us where the kids you kidnapped are, we'll just have to force it out of you. Sorry, but you really can't match our might."

"Axle, behind you!" Eon yelled before sending a Shadow Ball his way to give him some cover.

Axle looked behind him just before Eon's attack hit the ground to see Gogoat with his horns glowing white and sharp about to ram into him. Using the darkness generated from the Shadow Ball attack, Axle quickly ducked away from the attack and ran for cover near his friends.

When the smoke cleared, the trio could see Gogoat looking dazed, likely from hitting the ground instead of the riolu he was expecting. He shook his head for a few seconds before looking at his friend, who was just peeling himself off the Elder Tree. They both regrouped themselves for the second round of attacking.

"You ok?" Gogoat asked.

"I've been worse," Simisage answered. "But that riolu's tough. And that shaymin…"

"I've got a plan," Gogoat said.

The two whispered to each other for a few seconds, but Shaymin wasn't about to let them go on like that for too long. "Hey, here's your plan!" Shaymin yelled. "How about telling us where those kids are! Now would be better than later! You guys are beat anyways!"

Gogoat looked at him. "…We've already taken the treasure of this area. We have no reason to continue on with this confrontation."

"We're not here for any treasure!" Eon yelled back. "We're here for the kids! Or weren't you guys listening?!"

"Fine, if you wish," Gogoat said. "Then we must continue."

Gogoat's horns started glowing green and he once again charged straight at Team Aura. Simisage followed by throwing another Seed Bomb at the group. The trio all scattered, dodging both the Leaf Blade and Seed Bomb, before Shaymin and Eon countered with Hidden Power and Air Slash to his right and left sides respectively. Immediately afterwards, Axle responded with Force Palm once again straight to his head, knocking him backwards. The force of the blow was strong enough not only to cause him to drop something, which Axle ignored, but also knocked him into Simisage, sending them both tumbling into the Elder Tree.

"Had enough already?" Axle asked. "It should be clear to the two of you already that you can't win."

The Simisage responded by getting up first. "If our boss was here, you'd lose!" he said.

"Haven't heard that one before," Axle mumbled sarcastically.

"Simisage, that's enough," Gogoat commanded. "We got what we're here for anyways. Let's leave."

Simisage grimaced at the idea, but the grass-type quickly got on Gogoat's back anyways. Axle and Eon ran up to the duo to stop them, Eon shooting her Hidden Power at their feet in her attempt. Unfortunately, Gogoat managed to dodge the Hidden Power and the two ran off towards the edge of the trees.

"Shaymin, get them before they get away!" Axle commanded, but when he didn't see a streak of white heading towards them and the two outlaws got away anyways, Axle quickly realized something was wrong. "Shaymin?" Axle asked, turning around.

He eventually saw the grass/flying-type looking to the ground, mesmerized by an object that was there. Curious, Axle walked up to take a closer look at the object in question that caught Shaymin's attention. At first, it didn't look to be anything of particular interest—it was just a red bandana from all Axle could see—but when he got a closer look at it, he noticed green lines that almost looked like stalks and leaves lining up the bandana.

"Shaymin…what exactly is that?" Eon asked as she walked up and also saw the bandana. "Is this something important?

"It…it can't be…" Shaymin finally responded. Axle took a look at his face and saw that the grass/flying-type had a thousand-yards stare when looking at the object. Axle couldn't tell whether he was afraid, surprised, or some mixture of both.

"Is that something belonging to one of the shaymin kids?" Axle asked.

Shaymin's eyes widened and he looked up, almost as if he finally noticed that his friend was here. The flying/grass-type immediately used Psychic to levitate the bandana and shove it in Axle's face. Axle shoved it back to the side and was about to yell at Shaymin, but when he looked at the gratitude Pokémon's face, the riolu saw something he'd never seen from Shaymin before. Desperation and despair.

"Shaymin, what's…?" Axle was about to ask, but he was quickly interrupted.

"Axle…Dimensional Scream…please," Shaymin pleaded. "Touch this bandana…please use your Dimensional Scream on it. Please!"

Axle and Eon looked at each other in surprise at how Shaymin was acting. Still, Axle eventually closed his eyes and placed his paw on the bandanna levitated in front of him. He took a deep breath, feeling around in his mind for any sign of his Dimensional Scream activating. Unfortunately, as the seconds ticked by, to where it became almost a minute, Axle felt nothing. As such, Axle opened his eyes and shook his head.

"Sorry Shaymin, I'm not sensing anything from this," Axle apologized.

"Oh…alright," Shaymin said sadly. He cut his psychic power and the crimson bandana fell flat on the ground. "I…I should have guessed."

"Shaymin…what's…?" Eon was about to ask, but Shaymin shook his head.

"Let's…let's just head north," Shaymin said. "We need to head to the next dungeon now that those two got away. So let's go like we promised Lapras."

Shaymin made a large leap over Axle and Eon before he began walking north. "But Shaymin!" Eon once again called out, but Shaymin once again shook his head.

"I'll…explain when we get onto Lapras," Shaymin said. "We've got a long ride anyways."

Without another word, Shaymin walked off. Axle and Eon both looked at each other once again and a whole unspoken conversation passed between them. Eon grabbed up the bandanna and put it in her bag before the two proceeded to follow Shaymin.


	4. Memories of Her

" _Hey, I never knew you read those types of books!"_

 _Shaymin looked up from the book he had lying on the ground to see a Sky-Form shaymin looking back at him. Shaymin squirmed back at the sight of her, accidently backing into the wooden building behind him. Seeing as he had nowhere to go, Shaymin quickly used psychic to pull the book he was reading in front of his face to hide from the shaymin in front of him._

" _Heh, apparently you're the shy type too," the Sky-Forme shaymin said with a chuckle and a grin. "Hey dude, it's alright. I'm not judging you or anything. I just thought I'd comment."_

" _C-comment?" Shaymin asked._

" _Yeah," the Sky-Forme Shaymin nodded. "That's a book on human legends, right? Not many shaymin appreciate that kind of stuff. Most ignore it, think it's stupid, heck, some of them even think that humans don't even exist. Too bad too, since if those books are right, we owe a lot of our lives now to the humans."_

" _Y-yeah, I know," Shaymin said, finally lowering his book a little. "Things like these books and our houses only exist thanks to humans first inventing them. Heck, small villages like this probably wouldn't exist without them. But most Pokémon consider them little more than fairy tales and it's kinda sad to be honest."_

" _Yeah, exactly!" the Sky-Forme shaymin exclaimed. "Glad to see someone else around here realizes this! You're pretty cool, you know."_

 _Shaymin lifted the book back closer to his face. "U-uhhhh…t-thanks ma'am."_

" _Ma'am?!" she asked with a chuckle. "You make me sound like I'm old. I doubt I'm that much older then you."_

" _W-well, sorry but…" Shaymin trailed off._

" _Yeah, I guess you wouldn't have anything else to call me," the shaymin said, continuing to laugh. "After all, don't have a nickname yet. Oh well."_

" _I don't really have one either," Shaymin said sadly._

" _Oh well," the shaymin said again nonchalantly. "Anyways, wanna talk some more later? It's about time I met someone as interested in human culture as I am!"_

" _Uhh…sure…I guess," Shaymin said._

 _The other shamyin chuckled. "Geez, you're really shy. Oh well! We'll see how long that lasts!"_

" _W-wha?"_

" _Anyways, I'll talk to you later," the Sky-Forme shaymin said. "I'm taking off now!"_

 _The shaymin jumped into the sky before doing a couple of mid-air flips. She flew gracefully and powerfully for the sky, her face alight with joy. Shaymin watched from his position on the ground entranced by the shaymin's flight, his book fallen to the floor as he cut off his psychic power. He looked both awestruck and longing seeing the shaymin flying around everywhere. And he continued watching until the shaymin finally flew past his view._

" _I…I…I wonder if I could be friends with her," Shaymin said to himself. "That…might be really nice."_

* * *

The sound of waves crashing around in the ocean was the only sound in the area as Team Aura crossed the waters on Lapras's back. The clouds were starting to increase in number within the sky, to the point where they were beginning to blot out the sun. Eon inquired about the possibility of a storm, but Lapras assured her that things would be fine. So the two just sat on Lapras's shell back, waiting for when Shaymin would finally talk.

Shaymin was over the edge of the shell on Lapras's back staring at his reflection in the ocean. He had a thousand-yard stare, not reacting to much, just sitting there contemplatively as he looked over the waves. Eon looked at him with a worried expression and Axle could emphasize with her worry. The riolu himself looked over from his position behind Lapras's head to the grass/flying-type every once in a while.

"…Alright, I'm ready," Shaymin finally said after a while.

Axle and Eon both looked at Shaymin at his sudden speech. "You're finally ready to talk about that bandanna?" Eon asked.

Shaymin nodded. "Y…" Shaymin's voice quit for a couple of seconds, but he quickly found it again. "Yeah, I am," he said. "You guys are my friends, so it'll be fine."

Shaymin closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "Eon…you actually know a lot about who owns this bandanna. Do you remember what I told you before?"

"What you…" Eon mumbled to herself as she thought about it. Her head quickly snapped up when she realized what he was talking about. "Wait…do you mean Skyla?!"

"Skyla?" Axle asked.

"Skyla was…" Eon was about to say to Axle, but she immediately stopped when she realized something. "Actually Shaymin, do you want to explain? This is your story to tell."

"Yeah…I will," Shaymin said. The grass/flying-type looked at Axle. "Skyla was a good friend of mine I once had in Shaymin Village. She was…absolutely amazing. She had a really good heart, she was so strong and courageous, the world was alive whenever she was around. She was just amazing. Back before I met her I was really timid, but she helped push me to be a better Pokémon. It was thanks to her that I first reached Sky Peak. It was thanks to her that I flew in my Sky Forme for the first time. It was thanks to her that I became the shaymin I am today."

Axle had a wide-eyed surprised look at that, an oddity on his normally stoic face. "Well that's…impressive," Axle said. "She must have been a great Pokémon."

Shaymin chuckled. "Yeah, she was. I mean, sure, she had her faults. She was pushy a couple of times. She also had a habit of biting off more than she could chew. But that was only because she wanted everyone to be the best they could be."

"You sound sort of enamored with her," Axle said. "Are you…we're you two…?"

"Heh, funny," Shaymin said. "And you complain about me teasing you about your relationship with Eon."

Axle just rolled his eyes and waited for Shaymin to continue.

"Y-yeah, we were," Shaymin answered. "I mean, depending on who you ask, we weren't really mates exactly, but we were the closest thing to mates that shaymin can be, and we considered ourselves that. It was actually kinda odd to the other shaymin. I mean, it's not odd for a couple of shaymin to form a strong friendship or kinship with each other, but it's odd for two shaymin to actually call each other mates. We didn't really care though. We were happy with how we were, regardless of what anyone else saw it as."

"And by the sounds of things, you two were happy in general," Axle said. "As much as I hate to ask this, what happened?" Shaymin was silent for a few moments, prompting Axle to press him. "Shaymin?" Axle asked.

"It was during the early winter," Shaymin said. "Skyla decided to take once last climb around Sky Peak before the snowstorms and lack of Gracidias to go into Sky Forme with would make it virtually inaccessible to us. I was fine with staying around Shaymin Village, so I let her go. …That was the last time I saw her. I didn't see her before I went to bed that night and after that…there was a horrible snowstorm. Shaymin Village was covered and the mountains were completely blocked off from us. For the rest of winter, and even into spring, we couldn't go into the mountains. For that entire time, I had no clue whether she was dead…alive…I didn't know. And even after we looked…"

"They couldn't find her body anywhere on the mountain," Eon finished for him, noticing that her friend was having difficulty continuing. Realization hit Eon. "Oh wait, that's when you mentioned her headband to me before. When you were talking about how it couldn't be found, how it, along with her, went missing after that day."

"So you couldn't find her body…" Axle mused, skepticism clear in his voice.

"I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no," Shaymin said. "She's…dead. Trust me, I thought that too. I constantly thought that, because we couldn't find her, couldn't even find her body, that she must be alive. I thought that for so long it drove me nuts sometimes. I wanted to believe that so badly. But I can feel it. The Skyla I knew is long gone. I can feel that in my heart, even if I don't want to believe it."

"I'm not one to deny what you feel in your heart, and I'm sorry if this sounds insensitive, but how can you be so sure?" Axle asked. "The lack of evidence to her death suggests that she may still be alive."

Shaymin laughed a sad, broken laugh. "How can I be so sure? Honestly, it's not that difficult."

"After all, it's been about 124 years since I've seen her. I'd say that makes me pretty confident that she's not around anymore."

"Wait…it's been…it's one…what?!" Eon asked, her mouth hanging open at the revelation she gained. "You're saying…but how's that…what?!"

"So in other words, it's been so long that you doubt seeing her again is an option," Axle said calmly. "I guess I understand. Over a century is quite a long time to not see anybody."

"Axle, Shaymin just told us that it's been more than a century since he's seen Skyla!" Eon stammered. "Do you…how are you not surprised by this?! Don't you know what that means?!"

"Yeah, exactly," Shaymin said to Axle, both completely ignoring the eevee's stammers of disbelief. "You'd think Skyla would do something, anything to reunite with me. Or at least, I'd like to believe she would. So for her to be gone for such a long time I just…can't imagine why. So that's why I think she's dead."

"Shaymin, how old are you?" Eon asked, since neither Axle or Shaymin's voice was sounding across the ocean at that point, giving her a chance to be heard.

"Somewhere around 180 or something," Shaymin said nonchalantly. "I'm not completely sure, to be honest. After a while I stopped paying attention."

"Over…you're that old?!" Eon's legs started shaking where she stood.

Shaymin looked at Eon with confusion for a few seconds until he realized something. "Oh yeah, you guys probably don't know," Shaymin said. "Sorry. Yeah, I must sound pretty old to you. Most Pokémon don't grow nearly that old. But yeah, I'm a Mythical Pokémon. I could live thousands of years if I manage to survive that long. So can any shaymin, really. We're not really born that often, though, which is why there are still not a lot of us."

"I…think I need to sit down," Eon said.

Axle crossed Lapras's back and walked over to the eevee, sitting down at her left side. With Axle at her side, Eon took some deep breaths to try and calm herself down. Axle instinctually placed a paw on her left shoulder to help.

"T-thanks Axle," Eon breathed. "Hey, how are you not surprised by Shaymin's age?"

Axle just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not really sure, to be honest," Axle answered. "I'm just…not bothered by it. I mean, after everything we've seen, this is kind of nothing really."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Eon said, her voice a little calmer than before. "And I guess, when you think about it, it makes sense. He was around when explorers would come to Sky Peak and try to climb to the top. If it's been so many years since the rockslide that made Sky Peak unavailable that Shaymin Village itself disappeared into legend, I really shouldn't be surprised that Shaymin is that old. Still…I don't know. There's something…off."

"But you understand now, right?" Shaymin asked. "After all these years, after waiting so long, you understand why I think she's gone."

"Or why you don't want to believe she's still alive," Axle said, quite bluntly.

"Axle!" Eon reprimanded.

"Sorry Eon, but I do have my reasons for mentioning this," Axle said. "Think about it. If Shaymin's right, we have Skyla's headband. We got it from one of those two thieves. So how did those two get it?" Axle looked at Shaymin. "You realized this, right? That's why you asked me to use my Dimensional Scream?"

Shaymin sighed. "I don't know," he said. "I really don't know anymore. Before today, I was sure that Skyla was gone. I thought, after all these years, if Skyla didn't come back, she wasn't anywhere. But now I found her headband…I don't know. Maybe they just found it and decided to keep it but…I don't know. Honestly Axle, I really wish your Dimensional Scream worked. If I knew for sure…I suppose I'd feel better now."

"Sorry," Axle apologized. "I don't really know enough about the Dimensional Scream to be able to control it."

"I…don't blame you," Shaymin said. "I honestly don't. I'm just…confused."

Axle nodded before closing his eyes and crossing his arms. He left himself to his thoughts for a few seconds before opening his eyes up and looking at Shaymin. "Well, I guess that means we have another reason to find those three outlaws."

Eon and Shaymin both looked at him. "What?" Eon asked.

"That gogoat had Skyla's scarf, right?" Axle asked. "So all we need to do is find those outlaws and get them to tell us where they got it. We can do that while we're grilling them for where they have the rest of the shaymin kids."

Shaymin smiled at him. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "Heck, they might have kidnapped Skyla themselves, which is why she wasn't able to come back! Who knows? We'll just have to wait until we find them before we figure it out!"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Eon said cheerfully as well. "We'll just have to find out when we find out."

 _Except…_ Axle thought for a moment, but he shook his head to get out of those thoughts. _Never mind. I'll worry about that if it comes up._

"Though Shaymin, I have a question," Eon said. She looked at Shaymin. "You're like…really old, right?"

"I suppose around 165 would be considered old, yeah," Shaymin said. "Don't really look that old, do I? I don't look a day over 50!"

Eon rolled her eyes before continuing. "But are you…ok with that? You know, outliving us? I mean, you're going to outlive us, right?"

"Unless I'm extremely unlucky, yeah, I'll probably outlive both of you," Shaymin said. "Or maybe lucky. Depends on how you look at it."

"To answer your question though, yeah, it's going to be hard," Shaymin finally answered. "That's something a lot of shaymin have trouble with. But I can tell you, if I wasn't, then I wouldn't be here. We're warned when we're young and told about our long life spans not to associate with normal Pokémon unless we're ready to outlive them."

"Alright, I was just wondering," Eon said. "Sorry if it was a hard subject."

"Nah, it's ok," Shaymin said. "Don't worry about it too much. It'll be hard, I know that, but I'm ready for it." Shaymin chuckled. "Besides, someone has to keep an eye on your great-grandchildren and keep them out of trouble. So I'm gonna be that guy. Your descendants can thank me later."

Eon rolled her eyes and Axle groaned. "Alright, he's better," Axle said. "So you ready to give your best when we end up on the next continent?"

Eon and Shaymin both looked across the horizon to see a mass of land slowly coming towards them. "Oh, we're almost there," Eon said.

Shaymin nodded. "Here we go then."

"Think those outlaws have a way to cross the sea?" Eon asked. "Think they even managed to figure out where the next ones are?"

Axle crossed his arms once again. "Perhaps. They managed to find the first one, so it's very possible they could find the other ones. Especially if they got a head start on us anyways. I don't think it matters either way. If possible, we can use whatever item we find in there as a bargaining chip to capture the outlaws."

"So we either find the outlaws over there or we find the item they need, right?" Shaymin asked. "Sounds good to me. Honestly, I kinda want to know what they're going for anyways. Clover the Adventurer's treasure sounds kinda interesting."

"Alright, we're ready," Eon said. "Lapras, how much longer?"

"We'll land in just a few more minutes," Lapras answered her question. "I'll need to find a good spot to drop you off, one you can recognize when you come back. Once there, I'll wait for you to return."

"Got it," Axle said. "Thank you for helping us."

"It's no problem," Lapras said. "Make your preparations now, because time is of the essence when we land."


	5. Culture Shock

After landing, Team Aura immediately made their march north across the new continent. They kept an eye on their map as they walked towards the Black Hole Caves. While they did, the three of them took in the new scenery. While they had crossed their fair share of barren lands before, the area they crossed was brown, barren, and lifeless. There wasn't even sand across the area, it was just brown dead rock.

"…Well, this place is boring," Axle said bluntly as they walked.

"At least the breeze feels nice," Shaymin responded. "But yeah, there are certainly more beautiful places on the planet. I'd say the Northern Desert is worse though. At least there's less sandstorms. The sky is nice and blue and the clouds look nice. Better than the brown clouds."

"I don't know," Eon said. "I think it's interesting. It might not look like much, but who knows what secrets could be found around here if you look below the surface. It's usually empty places like this that hide the most beautiful treasures. I mean, think about it. Clover apparently found some place to hide her treasure here. So who knows what else can be found around here?"

"That's a nice way to think of it," Shaymin said. "Maybe we should go exploring around here sometime and see what we can find. But I suppose right now we've got other things to worry about."

Axle grabbed the map out of his bag and opened it up in front of him as he walked. "Let's see…we're getting close," Axle said. "We should reach the outer edge of the canyon soon and from there we have to look for a dark cave somewhere below it."

"Let's hurry then," Shaymin said. The grass/flying-type immediately jumped into the sky and flew on ahead. "I'll scout on ahead and see if I can find it. You guys try and get there as fast as you can!"

"Shaymin's taking this really seriously," Axle said, crossing his arms as he did. "It's strange to see him taking things so seriously. Even…if he is still cracking a few jokes at our expense."

"I suppose," Eon agreed. "I suppose saving the shaymin kids and the chance to find Skyla has really brought out his serious side."

"For better or worse," Axle said. "I am worried about a few…things, but we should just move on for now."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Eon asked. She chuckled. "The answer's probably 'no', isn't it?"

"If it comes to it," Axle said. "I don't want to keep you in the dark, but I don't want you to worry about nothing either."

"Just be sure to tell me when it comes to it," Eon said.

"I will," Axle promised. "Let's do what Shaymin said and get moving first. We don't want to lose those outlaws because of my doubts."

"Right," Eon agreed.

They both ran forwards across the barren stone. Eventually they saw the ground open up in the horizon, prompting them to run faster at the sight of their destination coming closer. It still took them a few minutes, but they eventually reached the point where the canyon dropped down just in front of them and they were able to stare into the great abyss. They couldn't see either the end or the bottom of the abyss, only the edge of it.

"Hey Shaymin, find anything?!" Eon yelled out into the abyss, unable to see their flying friend.

"Yeah, I found the entrance to the dungeon!" Shaymin yelled back at them. "Just a second!"

Shaymin flew back up to them and pointed them towards the left. Axle and Eon followed along, walking clockwise around the chasm in front of them. They eventually saw a small point where they could jump down. There wasn't any really set path for them to jump down, and the two had to really jump down some heights to get there, but they kept going and going. Eventually, thanks to Shaymin's guidance, the two of them made it to a small cliff face with an extremely dark cave dug into the side.

"So, this is Black Hole Cave huh?" Eon asked.

"It lives up to its name, I'll give it that," Shaymin said. "I took a quick look in there and found just about as much as you can expect. You aren't able to see nothing in there."

"That's a double negative Shaymin," Eon pointed out. She looked at her right where Axle was standing, arms crossed. "Axle, wanna try out your X-Ray Specs." Axle nodded before wordlessly putting on his glasses as asked.

"…Alright," Axle said after a few seconds. "I can see into the cave perfectly fine."

"So let's go then!" Shaymin exclaimed. "We've got to get in there before anyone else does."

"Assuming they could," Axle said. "But we don't want to take any chances with these outlaws."

The three of them nodded before they all walked into the cave. While in there, Axle walked ahead of them while Eon and Shaymin followed close behind him. Very close behind him. Axle could feel Eon's nose almost touch his back and he was sure Shaymin had to enjoy the feel of having Eon's tail slap against his face. Especially with his next comment.

"Hey Eon, would you mind being a little careful with your tail?" Shaymin asked. "While I'm sure Axle wouldn't mind being in this position right now, I'm not exactly him. Or comfortable."

"Sorry Shaymin," Eon apologized before mentally keeping her tail off to the side.

Axle rolled his eyes at the conversation behind him. He didn't care to comment though, as he had to concentrate on the dungeon. He could sense enemies were around, slowly crawling across the many caverns. He knew it'd be only moments before they crossed the paths of one of them, and only a few seconds later, he figured out he was right.

"We've got an enemy coming up," Axle said to his friends. "A luxray."

"Makes sense," Eon said. "Their X-Ray vison would make thriving in these caves easy."

Axle stretched his arms to his sides as far as possible. "Eon head to the right. Shaymin, left. Walk until you guys feel my paws, then stop."

Axle kept his paws stretched until he felt Eon's and Shaymin's head-fur brush up against his two paws. With that he lifted his arms and got ready for battle. First, though, he made sure that Shaymin and Eon knew where to attack.

"Fire your attacks at 11 o'clock," Axle said. "You two fire first and I'll use that distraction to get up close to it and attack."

"We'll try," Eon said.

Shaymin shot an Energy Ball and Eon shot a Swift in the direction that Axle pointed them to. Shaymin's attack was on point while Eon's was a little off, though the stars she shot out of her mouth quickly corrected themselves and slammed into the luxray. While they were doing that, Axle sped across the dark cave and used the explosive distractions to attack. He placed his paw on the luxray and, after a couple of seconds, knocked it back with a Force Palm. Axle then did two backflips to get back to where his two allies where just in case that wasn't enough to take it out.

What he didn't expect, though, was to hear a void coming for him. "Ow!" cried the luxray. "Dang that hurt! What the heck are you?!"

Axle looked over at Eon, though he couldn't catch her gaze due to the darkness. Still, he saw her look in the last direction he directed her to with shock. Axle already knew from the look on her face what she was thinking. Shaymin's next words outright confirmed what he himself was thinking.

"Uhh guys…don't think we're dealing with a Wild here," Shaymin said.

"Oh, sorry!" Eon yelled towards the luxray. "I'm really, really sorry! We thought you were a wild Pokémon!"

"Wait…you guys aren't wild Pokémon either?" the luxray asked. "Oh, thank goodness. I didn't want it to be three against one."

"Who exactly are you anyways?" Axle asked. "And if you're not a Wild, then what are you doing here?"

"Hi, my name is Loox," the luxray said. "It's spelle by the way. Like the first three letters of my name only pronounced differently. Most Pokémon get that wrong. I get why, though, since it isn't really a common name."

Axle looked at the luxray with interest. Despite being a rather intimidating species, and one both Eon and him had a bad run in with before, this luxray didn't sound that intimidating at all. His voice was in an upper range and he sounded very excitable, like a very excitable teenager.

"I think it's a human word from a different language," Shaymin chimed in. "Human's had all sorts of different ways of pronouncing things depending on what language it was in. Not sure what it means, but that's kinda cool. Who gave you that nickname?"

"It was the leader of my team," Lux answered. "He gave me that nickname when I joined. Oh yeah, I just remembered. You wanted to know why I'm here too. I'm a member of Rescue Team Wild Charge. We got a rescue request for this dungeon and, since I'm kinda the only one who can see in here, I was sent on that mission. How about you guys?" The electric-type scanned the three of them, going from his right to left, until his eyes ended up on Eon. "Wait…Vui, is that you?"

"Vee?" Eon asked. "No, sorry. My name is Eon."

"Oh, sorry then," Lux apologized. "There's just an eevee I know named Vui. That's spelle by the way. Kinda another weird name."

"Alright, that's fine," Eon said. "As I said before, my name is Eon and my friends are Axle and Shaymin. We're not actually a Rescue Team, but an Exploration Team."

"An Exploration Team huh?" Lux asked. "I think I've heard of that before. You guys are cool bounty hunters who search for vast troves of treasure and take down bad guys for profit, right? I hear explorers are loaded!"

"Uhh…kind of, kind of not," Eon said. Axle could guess that she was probably squirming right now.

 _Well, I guess I know what other lands think about us,_ Axle thought. _Good to know._

"So, does that mean there's an amazing treasure here?" Lux continued to ask, his voice sounding more and more excited by the minute.

"Kinda," Shaymin said, his voice matching the luxray's excitement. "There's a clue here that will lead to a great treasure. But there's some bad guys coming here too trying to take the clue and we need to stop them."

"Oh, wow! A chase to a treasure, bad guys vs good guys! That sounds awesome!"

Axle tried not to chuckle as he watched a luxray bounce around like a school child.

"You sound like you have a really interest in exploring (even if it's not exactly like that)," Eon said. "Why are you on a Rescue Team then?"

"It's because I own my leader my life," Luxray said, his voice taking on an actually serious tone. "He rescued me when I was just a little shinx. I don't know whether my pack abandoned me or I got lost, but either way, I was lost and alone. He rescued me, raised me, and even gave me a place on his team. Without him, I wouldn't even be here. Thanks to him, I've grown stronger and stronger. So I'll follow my leader to the ends of the earth. Plus, even though exploring sounds really cool, I really love seeing the look on Pokémon's faces when we rescue them from a tough situation. I want to help all Pokémon live peaceful and happy lives, so I'll gladly stick with Wild Charge."

"Well that's a really good reason," Eon said with a bow. "I'm sorry if I made it sound like I was dismissing your choice. I was just curious."

"It's alright!" Lux said cheerfully.

"Though, since we both have missions here, would you mind temporarily teaming up with us?" Axle asked. "Having someone else who can see would be really helpful."

"Sure, sounds fun!" Lux said.

"Alright," Axle said with a nod. "If you wouldn't mind, could you take the rear? That way we could have someone watching our back and making sure that my friends here don't end lost."

"Sure," Lux said agreeably.

Axle, Eon, and Shaymin turned back into their original formation with Lux now walking behind them. Axle felt a bit of confidence in this, knowing that his friends wouldn't accidently break away from the group and get lose in a cave they have no sight in. So he was able to concentrate much more on the enemies in the cave and their movements. However, while they were walking, a few more questions rang in Axle's mind and he decided to quickly dispel those doubts before they became too strong.

"So what is a Rescue Team exactly?" Axle asked. "I mean, the name kinda gives it away, but I'd be interested to hear what the job actually entails."

"From what I've heard, Rescue Teams are trained and adept at rescues," Eon said. "While Explorers do go on rescue work every once in a while, we mostly do so as training for our explorations or to get some work during dry spells. We're not as specialized in it or anything. Rescue Teams, on the other hand, are really trained for Rescue Work. I've heard they bring tons of items and equipment with them and are adept at many medical procedures to be prepared for whatever rescuing situation they could come across."

"I don't know about any 'medical procedures' or anything, but I guess we do bring a lot of items in case we need it," Lux said. "And yeah, we focus on rescuing and helping out other Pokémon. We take all our jobs in hope of helping all the Pokémon of the world. Whenever something happens and a Pokémon get lose or stuck in dungeon, we rescuers will be here for them."

"That's nice to here," Eon said. "We honestly need more rescuers around the Grass Continent. Explorers are so focused on finding new places to explore that we often ignore rescue missions. It's a shame too, because there are a lot of Pokémon that need help back home too."

"I suppose," Axle said. "Though continuing on that, if you don't mind me asking, what rescue job brings you here? You said you're on a mission, do you know who your client is?"

"Yeah, of course!" Lux announced. "It's…" Lux stopped walking and looked up for a second. Everyone else stopped to look back at him "Wait…who was it again? Oh man, I completely forgot! It was kinda a weird name, I remember that. But I can't remember exactly who it is! Oh great, we're going to end up attacking them thinking they're a random enemy."

"Uhh…I'll…check out the aura of anyone we come across to see whether they're a wild Pokémon or not," Axle said, startled at the luxray's outburst. "They're probably staying in the same place anyways, so it shouldn't be hard to tell them apart from the rest of the enemies. In fact…" Axle closed his eyes and lifted his paw, spreading his aura sense all through the place. "Hmm…I think I've got a location on them."

"You do?!" Lux asked.

Axle nodded. "I think so anyways. But they're still pretty far away in the dungeon. And I doubt we're going to pass by without fighting anyone. Think you'll be able to fight when the time comes."

"Yeah, of course," Lux said. "My leader made sure I was well trained before I joined his team. You guys surprised me, so I wasn't able to fight back that well. But that doesn't mean I can't!"

"Alright, good," Shaymin said. "Just make sure we're not caught in the crossfire. We still can't see a dang thing in here."

"I'm surprised our eyes haven't adjusted to the darkness yet," Eon mentioned. "This place really is a void of darkness."

"There's a lot of Dark and Ground-type Pokémon around here too," Lux mentioned. "They're sort of difficult to see, even for me. There were a couple of enemies chasing me, in fact, before I ran into you guys. I must have lost them all before I reached you."

"Good to know," Axle said. "Alright, let's all get moving then. Follow me."


	6. A Shot in the Dark

The four of them all continued moving, this time picking up the pace at their confidence that no one would get lost. Axle could sense his partner's following his footsteps allowing him to keep his pace up and he figured Lux would announce it if Shaymin fell away from the rest of the group. Knowing all that, Axle was able to continue on at a brisk pace until he felt enemies come closer to him. At the moment he felt them, the riolu stopped, and spread his arms out wide so that his partners could run into him and stop. Luckily, his partners stopped before they ran into him.

"We got enemies?" Eon asked.

"Yeah, I can see them," Lux said as he walked up next to Axle. "Well, at least one. A gliscore is flying towards us."

"There's one other," Axle mentioned. "A sableye is crawling along the right wall and is about to flank us from the right side. If you look closely, you can just barely see it's outline."

Lux looked over in the direction Axle pointed and realized he was right. "Oh, there, I see it now," the luxray said.

"Good, because I want you and Shaymin focusing on that," Axle said. "I didn't bring my Emit Ring, so I can't do anything to it. Meanwhile Eon and I will take on the gliscore."

"A-alright, I'll try," Lux said.

"Hey, just point me in the direction of where they are, and I'll attack," Shaymin said.

"Alright," Lux said.

While those two went to work, Axle focused on the gliscore that was getting ever closer. "Eon, 1:00 at around 120," Axle commanded.

"On it," Eon said.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, and as she did so, around six orbs of light appeared around her. Opening her eyes back up again, Eon shot those orbs in the direction Axle directed her to. Four of them hit the gliscor while two of them missed, those four exploding around it's appendix and knocking it slightly more into the air.

"How'd that do?" Eon asked after she was done with the attack.

"Exactly what it needed to," Axle answered.

The riolu then launched his own attack from afar, a Bullet Punch straight to its chest. With the enemy dazed from those combined attacks, Axle took this chance to come in close, so he ran below where the gliscor was and jumped, his paws writhed in dark claws that he immediately slashed the gliscor with as soon as he got onto its level. Unfortunetly for him, the gliscor didn't like being slashed by him, and immediately wrapped Axle up in his tail, squeezing him.

Axle grunted and struggled, but he was held too far away from the gliscor for his arms to attack anywhere convenient. He wasn't even facing anywhere where he could fire a Bullet Punch at the ground/flying-type to loosen his grip. Axle continued to grunt and struggle, but his struggle didn't get him anywhere.

"Axle!" Eon yelled out.

Axle felt something whoosh past right above his head and he felt the gliscor's tail loosen on him, allowing him to struggle and break free. Axle fell out, but he used this opportunity to grab onto gliscor's tail, taking care to avoid the pointed end. The riolu pulled the gliscor down to the ground with him and slammed it on the ground, ignoring other familiar grunts of pain. Afterwards, Axle launched a Force Palm on the gliscor, knocking him out.

With that out of the way, Axle quickly looked over to find Eon on the ground, grunting in pain, her four legs quivering. Axle quickly ran over to her before scooping the eevee up into his arms, ignoring how heavy she was. The riolu held onto her back, lifting her so they were face to face. She was still awake, but Axle could tell she was in pain.

"Are you alright, Eon?" Axle asked.

"N-not really," Eon grunted.

"That was a pretty foolish move, using a physical attack like that," Axle said.

"I…know but, I had to do something when I heard you grunting, and I didn't trust having my long ranged attacks hitting you," Eon said.

"It's alright," Axle said, cutting her off. "You saved me and helped me take out that gliscor. So thanks. Be sure to take care of yourself, though."

"Heh, pot calling the kettle black?" Eon chuckled.

Axle rolled his eyes before hearing footsteps coming in his direction. He turned around to see Lux walking in his direction with Shaymin flying slowly closer as well. Lux eventually stopped close enough to Axle before looking towards Shaymin.

"Alright, just a little more…little more…good. Stop right there," Lux directed Shaymin as he flew closer to the group.

"Ok seriously, we really should get more X-Ray Specs for stuff like this," Shaymin complained. "Being directed around really stinks."

"I assume you guys managed to take out the sableye?" Axle asked.

"Yeah, we did," Shaymin said. "Lux did pretty good. You should have seen him out there."

"Good to hear," Axle said. "Hey Shaymin, would you mind trying to help Eon onto my back?"

"I suppose I'm not given a choice here?" Eon asked.

"Do you think you can walk?" Axle retaliated, looking back at her.

"…Point taken."

"We've only got a bit more to go," Axle said with a nod. "So it's just for now."

Shaymin walked very close to Axle and Eon so he could see their foggy outlines. When he did, Shaymin carefully used his psychic power to lift Eon from out of Axle's arms and into the air. Axle knelt down until he felt Eon's weight on his back, her forepaws over his shoulders. Axle lowered his paws until he grabbed her hindpaws to give her some extra support. Once they were both secure, Axle slowly lifted himself and Eon up.

"A-alright, we're ready," Axle said. "You good Eon?"

"I'll be fine," Eon answered. "I'm more worried about you."

"What's…going on?" Lux asked.

"Basically, to make a long story short, we all ended up in a horrible accident about a month or so back," Shaymin explained. "Axle and I managed to recover pretty well, but Eon was in a really bad state. She's better now, but her legs aren't up to what they were before. Because of that, she really can't use her physical moves as well as she used to be able to. And, just in case there was ever a point where Eon would have trouble walking, Axle trained himself to be able to carry her weight across long distances. It's not perfect, but just goes to show you have devoted our little riolu is to his mate."

Axle gave the grass/flying-type a glare, a useless one considering the circumstances, but a glare regardless, before nodding at Lux. "Ignore the last part, but that's pretty much it. Regardless, we're getting close to where I think your client is, so just a bit more. Shall we get moving?"

"Umm…sure," Lux said. "Let's go then."

Axle continued in the direction he sensed Lux's client, but he was forced to move a bit slower with the extra weight on his shoulders. Still, he managed to keep a brisk pace and kept moving fast enough to get some progress. This time, Shaymin joined Axle by his side and Lux kept in back to make sure there weren't any assaults from behind. Of course, their walk wasn't completely uninterrupted, as more enemies poured out to attack them.

"Another sableye," Lux eventually said. "And I can see it this time!"

"And a murkrow is flying towards us as well," Axle said as he looked up. "Lux, if you can see it, try attacking that one. Eon and Shaymin, the sableye is crawling along the left wall at 10:00. Try and hit it with your long-ranged moves."

"Heh, no problem," Shaymin said from somewhere behind Axle.

"I'm not really sure about my accuracy," Eon admitted.

"Just shoot forward rapidly when I give the single," Axle told her. "I'll turn you so you're facing the right angle. I'll also tell you when to stop."

"Ok, I like that idea better," Eon said.

Shaymin shot out his Energy Ball first, the attack managing to hit it's mark without much more direction from Axle. The riolu was busy turning Eon around so she was facing the sableye. The Pokémon was unfortunately on the move after Shaymin's attack, so Axle had to lead Eon's shots.

"Now!" Axle commanded.

Eon began firing Shadow Balls while Axle still turned her. Her first two shots missed the wild Pokémon, but her third managed to hit its mark. Axle immediately called for her to stop so he could assess the situation. It wasn't long before he wished he'd let her keep going, though, as the sableye took the lull between attacks to spring of the back wall and launch one straight at Axle. The riolu managed to jump back to avoid the attack, but it was at that moment he remembered a severe flaw in holding Eon like this.

 _Crap, I can't do anything now,_ Axle thought. _Note to self, learn some new moves that involve my feet for when my paws are occupied._

"Shaymin, Eon, enemy straight in front of me," Axle said while he continued to backstep and put some range between him and the slashing claws of the sableye. "I can't gain distance forever."

"I'm on it!" Lux called out. Suddenly the sableye was hit with a Spark attack right in front of Axle's eyes, the riolu being stunned for a bit by the brutality of the attack. When the sparks cleared, he saw Lux standing over the fainted body of the sableye, looking back at the riolu with a happy smile.

"…Not bad," Axle said. "Thanks for that."

"No problem!" Lux said happily. "I can see, so I can still use Physical attacks!"

Axle nodded. "Alright, let's continue onwards," he said.

So the four of them continued on their path forward. They ran into a few more enemies on their way through, but luckily Eon and Shaymin's long ranged attacks kept most of the enemies at bay. When they didn't, Lux tore through them with his powerful electric attacks. This allowed them all to get through the rest of the dungeon relatively unscathed. They kept going like that for a little longer. Eventually though…

"Is that…a small light?" Eon asked. "With it I can almost see around the place."

"It's not just you," Shaymin said. "I see a small light too. Wonder what's there?"

"It's where Lux's client is," Axle said. "I can sense their aura from here."

"Really?" Lux asked, excitedly. "Finally! I thought this dark dungeon would go on forever! Let's go!"

"Plus, thinking about it…a strange place like that in a dungeon like this…that might be the place Clover found," Eon mentioned. "Kinda convenient when you think about it."

 _Hmm…interesting_ , Axle thought. He felt like crossing his arms in thought, but he wasn't in the position to do that yet. Instead, he continued on forward, Shaymin and Lux following close behind. Eventually they walked closer and closer and the light grew brighter and brighter until finally…

"Wow," Eon said as she looked around the area she was in.

The place wasn't too bright, but it was lit up by what looked like several small stars shining down in the area from the walls. Beyond that, the walls and floor were still as black as usual, but they had shape and form beyond just Lux's and Axle's respective X-Ray visions. Everyone except for Lux walked into the room, entranced by the view around them.

"It sort of looks like we're standing in space, surrounded by the stars," Eon said. "I wonder if this was named Black Hole Cave not just because it's dark, but it's center also looks like this."

"That just might be it," Shaymin said. "Hmm…Clover's adventures must have been really interesting. Finding places like this…"

"Heeeyyyyy! Is anyone around?!" Lux called out, bringing everyone's attention towards him. He wasn't taking in the scenery like everyone else, and was instead scanning the area for his client. Eventually, he turned back to look at Axle. "You sure she's here?"

"Yes, she should be," Axle said. He closed his eyes and took a quick glance around the area with his aura. "Yeah, she's close by."

"Alright, got it," Lux said. He lifted his snout back up again and called out. "Heeey! I'm Lux from Rescue Team Wild Charge! L U X, Lux! I'm here to rescue you! Come out if you can hear meeee!"

"…So you're my rescuer then? Aright, good. I was hoping someone would come out eventually."

Footsteps came about and everyone turned in the direction of where those footsteps sounded from. When they did, Axle, Eon, and Shaymin's mouth opened when they saw the Pokémon that appeared from out of the darkness. Lux didn't though, and smiled as he walked up to the Pokémon.

"Hey, thanks for coming to my rescue dude," the Sky-Form shaymin said as she walked up to Lux. "And I see you brought some friends too." The shaymin's green eyes glanced through Axle than Eon until they landed on Shaymin. Once they did, her mouth fell open in surprise.

"Rainflower…is that you?" the shaymin asked.

"…Skyla?!" Shaymin asked.


	7. Her Incredible Story

Both shaymin looked at each other in surprise while Axle and Eon also looked on baffled at what was going on. Lux also looked confused, but Axle could tell by the luxray's face that it was more due to a lack of context then anything. They all stood there silently until Skyla looked away and looked down.

"H-hey Rainflower," Skyla said. "…Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Rainflower?" Eon asked. She looked at Shaymin. "Shaymin…are you…?"

Shaymin ignored her, still staring at Skyla. "Skyla you're…you're…" he stammered out, but he wasn't able to finish a coherent thought.

Skyla chuckled sadly. "Yeah, I…probably have a lot of explaining to do, don't I? But this isn't the place for it. We should head out now."

Skyla looked at Lux. "Thanks Lux," she said. "Let's get out of here. I'll give you my reward when we get out." She turned back to Shaymin. "Rainflower, you and your friends should get out of here too. If I had to guess why you're here, sorry, but the outlaws already took everything here. I'll explain later."

"You know…?" Eon asked.

"Yeah, but again, we'll talk later," Skyla said. "This dungeon isn't exactly the best place to talk."

"…She's right," Axle said. "We'll discuss this later. For now, we should get out of here before any enemies decide to come up and attack us. I can sense they're already heading in this general direction."

"Alright!" Lux said. He held an egg-shaped badge up in front of Skyla and they both disappeared in a bright yellow light. Axle, Eon, and Shaymin also held their own badges up and transported themselves out of the dungeon. All five of the Pokémon warped out of there and back to the top of the vast canyon where the dungeon was. When Team Aura reached the outside, they all saw Skyla giving Lux his rescue reward.

"…Anyways, thanks for the save," Skyla said. "Give your leader my thanks too."

"Sure thing!" Lux said cheerfully. "And I'll try remembering your name next time. Skyla. A, Skyla. Got it!"

Lux quickly turned to Axle, Eon, and Shaymin as they walked up towards him. "Thanks to you two also," Lux said. "It was nice having some backup in a place like that. If you're ever in the area and need some help, be sure to call Team Wild Charge! That's…"

"Yeah, we get it," Axle said. "We'll be sure to remember you."

"Alright," Lux said. "See ya!"

The luxray ran off around the canyon, heading towards the other side of it and back across the continent. The four of them watched him run off for a while before Axle, Eon, and Shaymin all turned their attention back towards Skyla. The shaymin blushed and turned her head away due to all the attention.

"Yeah…I guess I've got some explaining to do, don't I, Rainflower?" Skyla asked.

"First, you keep saying Rainflower," Eon mentioned. She looked towards Shaymin. "Is that…?"

"Y-yeah, that's my actual nickname," Shaymin said. "It's just…I haven't used it in a while. Not since…"

Axle knew the direction where this conversation was going and decided to press now. "I believe you've got a bit of explaining to do now, don't you?" Axle asked Skyla directly. "I'd recommend starting now."

"Alright, I'll try," Skyla said. "You guys are looking for a couple of outlaws, right? That's the reason you guys are here, right?"

"Well, sure, but I figured you'd think we were here for Clover's Treasure first," Eon said. "I mean; we are traveling around with Shaymin so…"

"It's because those outlaws kidnapped me as well," Skyla said. "Yeah…I should probably start with that. The night I left Sky Peak, I decided to go for a little fly around the mountains. I figured I'd check out all the mountains around the place, since I don't leave Sky Peak all that often. None of them were really that impressive though. Sky Peak is definitely the tallest mountain."

"Anyways, I was just going around, minding my own business, when someone just suddenly comes up and knocks me out!" Skyla said with a strong annoyed tone. "Should have figured a Mythical Pokémon like me would have become a target, but I didn't figure I would actually be knocked out. I don't even know what freaking hit me, but before I knew it, I lost consciousness. Pfft, they're lucky they attacked me before I saw them, otherwise they would've gotten their cans kicked."

"So you were kidnapped?" Axle asked contemplatively, his arms crossed in thought.

"Yeah, I was knocked out, blindfolded, and thrown someplace," Skyla said. "I was asked about Clover's treasure, which heck if I knew anything about it, it's a kid's tale, before they just left me there. Luckily sunlight was wherever they threw me so I was able to survive, but I was stuck there for the longest time. Heck, I don't even know how long I was there. They just left me like that."

"Those creeps!" Shaymin growled bitterly. "I can't believe they would do that to you."

"Pfft, doubt they cared," Skyla said. "They were just a bunch of no-good outlaws." Axle noted a strange sort of bitterness in her voice when she said that.

"So how did you end up in that cave anyways?" Axle asked, getting everyone back on subject.

"Wow Axle, look at you all talkative," Shaymin said. "I knew I'd break you out of your shell eventually." Axle ignored him, the riolu's gaze still on Skyla.

"Well, eventually a couple of kids were thrown where I was," Skyla said. "Didn't take me long to figure out they were shaymin. Eventually, one of the kids spilled the beans on Clover's treasure. After a while they figured one of them must have been in that cave. So they took me to the cave and used me as a meat shield while they searched for the treasure. Which was painful, in case you're wondering. Luckily, because it was dark, I was able to slip away from those guys and hid."

"When I knew they were gone I tried escaping the cave myself, but not being able to see kinda didn't help much with that. Especially after taking a bunch of hits for them. So I wasn't able to get very far. Luckily, some rescuer must have been there recently, because I tripped over a rescue badge while I was walking around the cave. With it, I called for some help, and I figure you guys can figure out the rest."

"You found a rescue badge just lying there?" Eon asked.

Skyla chuckled. "Yeah. I feel sorry for the poor sap that must have lost it. But at the same time, I'd thank them if I knew where they were. It's thanks to them that I was able to send for a rescue attempt. Granted, you guys would have come anyways, but I didn't know that, so it was nice knowing that help was coming for me."

"Do you still have the badge?" Axle asked.

"Why? You're a couple of Explorers. Unless you know like, a bunch of Rescue Teams, I doubt you guys know who's badge it is," Skyla said. "Anyways, it doesn't matter. I don't really have it. It was my reward for rescuing me. So that Lux guy has it now."

"Convenient," Axle said dryly.

Skyla looked at Axle confused before walking over to Shaymin. "Hey Rainflower, what's with that friend of yours?" she whispered to him, soft enough that Axle could only just barely hear her. "He's looking at me like I'm suspicious or something."

"Pfft, Axle looks at everyone he doesn't know like that," Shaymin said casually. "Don't worry about it. He likes to be the cautious one. Doesn't get him many friends, but oh well. He'll open up to you after a while, trust me."

Axle just huffed.

"In any case, is there anything you can tell us about the outlaws at all that can help?" Eon asked. "Anything at all could be useful."

"First, what's your guys' stake in this anyways?" Skyla asked. "I mean, I can imagine why Rainflower's going around doing this, but what about you? Are you guys just a couple of Explorers lookin for Clover's Treasure."

"They're actually helping me," Shaymin said. "They were with me helping with the Flower Festival coming up and they heard about the shaymin kids being missing too. And since we're all friends, they decided they wanted to help me catch those creeps that did it. We're only heading to the places in Clover's adventures in order to capture those outlaws, since we figure they're going to be there as well. We're not really that interested in Clover's treasure."

Axle could hear Skyla mumble a couple of things after Shaymin said that, but her mumbling wasn't distinct enough for him to understand.

"Alright, I get you guys," Skyla said. "So…info on the outlaws…Not really sure how much help I can be, to be honest. I told you guys; I was kinda blindfolded. But let me thing about it for a couple of seconds."

Skyla jumped into the air and started flying around for a while. Axle, Eon, and Shaymin all converged together, watching her as she flew roughly through the sky. Eventually, the two basic Pokémon's eyes went over to Shaymin, looking for an explanation.

"She always mentioned that flying around helps her think," Shaymin said. "She must be really frustrated about this, though. Usually her flying is smoother and much more graceful. It's actually a sight to see."

"…Good to know," Axle said.

Axle noticed from the corner of his left eye Shaymin glancing at both him and Eon. "Geez, what is it with you two today?" the grass/flying-type asked, though he said it in a more joking, cheerful tone. "Axle, you're chatty and Eon, you're being really quiet today. I always knew you two were rubbing off on each other, but I didn't think you'd both switch personalities. It's getting kinda weird."

"Sorry Shaymin…I'm just lost in thought," Eon said. Axle crossed eyes with her and her expression told him she wanted to talk soon.

Skyla eventually landed in front of everyone. "Alright, I've got an idea," Skyla said. "I remember one thing. The floor was really cold and rocky. I bet they hid me, and maybe even the rest of the shaymin kids, inside a cave somewhere. And if there is sun pouring down in the cave then it much have an opening from above. So I bet if I fly around looking at some mountains, I could possibly find where they hid me. Just a guess anyways. Better than nothing."

"Really?" Shaymin asked. "That sounds great! Want me to fly off and help you? With two eyes in the sky, we might find it easier!"

"Yeah, sure," Skyla said. "That sounds good."

"While you're doing that, we'll look over our items and prepare for anything," Eon said. Axle had his mouth open to say something similar, but closed it after Eon beat him to it. They both once again crossed eyes before turning back to Skyla and Shaymin.

"Alright, good to know," Shaymin said. "Need me to find a Kangaskhan's Rock for you?"

"I believe we passed by one on our way to this dungeon," Eon said. "So we'll just head there. You guys go on ahead though."

"Alright," Shaymin said with a nod.

He turned his head towards Skyla and they both took off into the sky. Axle and Eon both watched the two shaymin fly away until they were both just specs of white among the clouds of the sky. Even after that, Axle kept quiet and turned around, walking back in the direction they came. Eon followed behind, also quiet, and the two walked silently for a long time until they reached the Kangaskhan's Rock that Eon found.

"…Hey Axle?" Eon asked. "I…hate to think this but…"

Axle turned to look at her straight in the eye. He gave a silent nod before walking up to the Kangaskhan Rock. Axle presented his badge to the rock and, after a quick flash, reached inside the rock's pouch. The riolu pulled out a crystal orb and placed it inside his bag before looking back at Eon.

"We need to talk," Axle said with the sound of finality in his voice.


	8. Flight

" _I'm sorry, what?! You seriously have never flown on your own before? Or even climbed up Sky Peak? How in the world have you lived?!"_

 _Shaymin stepped back, trying to squirm away from the sky shaymin's inquiry. "Well…I've just…I've always been so afraid to try and fly," Shaymin said. "It's a…really scary idea. I mean, what if I end up messing something up and falling? I could get hurt or killed, couldn't I? At least with the Flower Festival all the shaymin were making a headwind that I could follow. Alone though…I could get really hurt! And as for Sky Peak…I've heard there are a lot of Wilds around there. I doubt I'm strong enough if I get in a fight with one of them."_

" _Geez, lighten up a little," the sky shaymin said with a light-hearted chuckle. "You're, what, around 20? Most shaymin live up in their thousands; I doubt you have much to worry about. Come on, live a little. You've read a lot about those human books. Haven't you seen how many humans wish they could fly like us? How humans apparently created these amazing machines to let them fly like us? Haven't you ever wondered what it feels like to be able to fly?"_

" _I…guess I have…" Shaymin admitted. "I've thought about it. I've just…"_

" _Alright then, I know what we have to do. It's time to teach you how to fly!"_

" _W-wha…what?!" Shaymin asked. He started scooting back and away from the sky shaymin as fast as his tiny paws could carry him. All it took the sky shaymin though was a quick and powerful hop through the sky and she was already behind him, stopping him from scooting back anymore._

" _Come on, you said you wanted to feel what it's like to fly," the sky shaymin said. "So let's go. I'll teach you how to fly so you can feel what it's like too."_

" _B-but…" Shaymin mumbled._

 _The sky shaymin sighed. "Yeah, sorry, I'm probably coming along a little strong. Let me rephrase that. Listen, flying through the sky is wonderful. It's pure freedom being able to go through the sky, fly wherever you want whenever you want. There's nothing better than that feeling, or at least I think so. So I want you to try it out yourself. I want you to feel the same things I feel when I fly. Or at least try it out so you can decide for yourself whether you like it or not. So would you mind learning how to fly from me?"_

" _I…sort of want to but…" Shaymin trailed off._

" _And hey, if you do fall, I'll be there to catch you," the sky shaymin promised. "So you have nothing to lose. Just so long as you trust me."_

"…" _Shaymin looked to the ground thoughtfully for a few seconds. "I…" Shaymin stopped before he really had a chance to say much of anything. This time, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "…Alright, I'll try. You can teach me how to fly. I'm still…a little nervous but, I do really want to fly too. So…"_

" _Yes! This is going to be awesome!" the sky shaymin exclaimed, interrupting Shaymin. "You'll be the best flyer in the world! Tomorrow morning, meet me in the Gracadia field! We'll get training early!"_

 _Before waiting for Shaymin to say anything, the sky shaymin took off into the sky. Shaymin watched her leave, his heart racing as he saw her fly through the sky. "I…I'm so afraid but…seeing her fly like that…I want to fly too. I really want to fly too. Ma'am…I hope you can teach me. And if you can…thank you."_

* * *

 _Shaymin, now in his Sky Forme, was standing on the ground in the middle of a small plain, his eyes closed as he steeled his nerves. He tried to breath slowly to slow down his quickly beating heart, his stiff limbs, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get his breath to stop. In fact, as the second passed by, he felt his breath go quicker and quicker, to the point where it was almost suffocating. He eventually opened his eyes and shook his head quickly._

" _I-I can't do this!" he announced. "I just can't! I can't fly!"_

 _His friend, who was to his left, just rolled her eyes. "Come on, calm down," she said. "Of course you can't right now. You're so stiff that if you jump, you'll just fall back down. Close your eyes and calm down."_

" _I tried that already!" Shaymin said. "I tried and I…"_

" _Then don't while you're thinking of flying," Shaymin's friend quickly interrupted. "Just do what I say! Now close your eyes."_

 _Shaymin eventually closed his eyes again, listening to the sound of his friend's voice. "Alright now listen," she said. "Don't think of flying. Instead, feel the wind." Shaymin tried to cut away all thoughts of flying and did as she instructed. He concentrated on the light wind, hitting his right side. "The wind flies without worry. Without thought. It blows where it wants to. It moves where it wants to. You need to be like that too. Follow the wind. Don't think, just act."_

" _Follow the wind," Shaymin repeated._

" _Alright, let's try it. I want you to try running like the wind. And when I say so, jump. Alright?"_

" _Follow the wind," Shaymin repeated. He started walking forward unconsciously, going with the wind like his friend suggested. He eventually moved faster and faster without really even thinking it. He just ended up quickening his pace without really knowing it._

" _Alright, jump now and keep running!" his friend commanded and Shaymin did so._

 _Now in the air, Shaymin continued running with his eyes closed. He just kept following the wind into freedom. At one point, he became one with the wind, completely a part of it, just flowing in its stream. Time, space, and everything lost all meaning when he did and he fell into complete freedom._

" _Alright, open your eyes," his friend said cheerfully, snapping Shaymin out of his reverie._

 _Shaymin opened his eyes and saw that his paws were no longer touching the ground. He was in the air, a couple of yards over the ground. He still wasn't taller than most of the mountains, but he could see farther in the landscape than normal and everything looked so small. While a part of him wanted to stand in awe, seeing this also made him realize something. He was in the air._

" _Oh…oh crap!" Shaymin exclaimed as he started panicking, his limbs flying everyone. "I'm in the sky! I'm in the sky! I'm gonna fall I'm gonna die I'm gonna fall I'm…"_

" _Calm down!" Shaymin's friend yelled, but it was too late. Shaymin was too far into his panic attack to hear her and he was starting to descend. So Shaymin's friend, after giving out a grunt of frustration, flew in a spiral pattern below him to create winds that will cushion his fall. It worked, and Shaymin, despite his panicking, slowly hovered back onto the green earth. When he landed, Shaymin immediately staggered forward before his legs gave way and he fell into the dirt._

" _Well that…could have been worse, I guess," Shaymin's friend said when she landed next to him. "You ok?"_

" _I'm back on the ground," Shaymin said in such a relieved voice. "I'm back on the safe ground."_

" _Come on, you weren't…that bad," his friend said. "I mean, you were up there and flying for a good 10 minutes before you panicked."_

 _Shaymin looked up into her eyes. "I was up there for 10 minutes?"_

" _Yeah, time flies when you're flying with it," his friend said with a smile. "And don't lie to me, you were having fun, weren't you?"_

 _Shaymin looked back down to the ground. "I…suppose I was."_

" _Good, then all we need to do is get you more used to being in the air. Once that's done, you'll be flying like a pro."_

 _Shaymin sighed, knowing she wasn't going to let up on this. Besides, even though he was realing back from the fear and didn't want to even think about flying again, her enthusiasm partly made him want to try again. So he didn't argue back, and instead used the energy to get strength back in his limbs. Once he accomplished that, he got back up off his feet._

" _Hey…thanks for saving me up there," Shaymin finally said._

" _Heh, no problem," his friend replied. "I told you I'd always be there to catch you. And just remember my moto. It doesn't matter how many times you fail, so long as you win eventually. 'Cause after that, winning becomes second nature. So even when life gets you down, you just gotta keep going and things will turn around eventually. Trust me."_

* * *

"Hey Rainflower!" Shaymin heard Skyla call out to him, sending him back out of his memories of her.

Shaymin looked back up at her and called back. "Hey Skyla, you find anything?" he asked.

"Heck yeah!" Skyla announced excitedly. "Wasn't that difficult too. Let's head back to where your friends are waiting now."

"Alright, let's go then," Shaymin said, talking back to her just as cheerfully.

Skyla flew to Shaymin's side and they both started flying their way back south towards Axle and Eon. Shaymin kept his eyes mostly on Skyla when they flew, without worrying at all about watching where he was flying. Skyla was keeping an eye on their flight path ahead.

"Gotta say though, Rainflower, it's kinda strange to hear you so loud and cheerful," Skyla said, making conversation as they flew. "Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that I recognized you and you recognized me, I would have never guessed you were you."

"I suppose I have changed a lot since we were last together," Shaymin admitted. "It's largely thanks to you that I'm like this."

"Took my advice to heart, huh?" Skyla asked.

"Yeah, I kinda felt like I had to," Shaymin admitted. "When I…thought I lost you…I felt like I needed to do this. To live a life for the both of us. So that's why I really focused on changing, trying to improve myself, things like that. You know, as a tribute to you."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Skyla said. "I really am. As Mythical Pokémon, we really shouldn't have to go through pain like that. Honestly I'm…" Skyla trailed off for a couple seconds before shaking her head. "Nah, never mind."

"Got something on your mind?" Shaymin asked.

Skyla rolled her eyes. "What part of never mind didn't you get? It's just something I'm thinking about, that's all. I just…what do you plan on doing after all this is over?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind spending some time with you," Shaymin said. "We really don't have too much time to catch up now, but we'll have plenty of time after all this. So I'll probably ask Axle and Eon for some time away from the team so we can spend some time with each other."

"And after that?" Skyla asked.

Shaymin gave his mate a confused look. "Uhh…I'll go back and work with my team like I've been doing? What do you mean, exactly?"

Skyla shook her head and Shaymin could see a look of deep sadness on her face. "Yeah, that's what I figured you'd say," she said, suddenly looking at Shaymin and flashing a smile on her face. "Alright, don't worry about it. I'm fine with you working with your team. It sounds like a great idea. But…if you ever think of doing something else…well, just keep an open mind."

"Keep an open mind?" Shaymin asked.

Skyla chuckled. "You going to respond to all my statements with a question?" she asked. "You said it yourself, we'll have time to chat later. For now, though, we're getting close to your friends."

"Yeah, in fact I can see them now," Shaymin said. Just at the edge of his vision, he saw the blue fur of Axle and the brown fur of Eon waiting for him. "We're almost there. Soon, we've got a bunch of kids to rescue. Then, we've got the whole world ahead of us."

"Sounds good," Skyla said.

"Heh, race you there!" Shaymin quickly yelled before speeding up in the direction of his friends.


	9. Into the Ground

Axle kept his bag secured to his right side as the four of them all traveled towards where Skyla told them to go. Shaymin and Skyla were slightly chatty behind him, talking about various things of little importance, but Eon and him were deadly quiet. They gave each other looks every once in a while, especially when the conversation behind them dissolved into laughter, but aside from that they weren't really able to say much at the time. They couldn't.

Eventually, Eon walked up close to Axle and whispered to him, "Axle, are you sure…?"

"Are you able to say anything to them?" Axle asked back. "Because I'm not."

"…I just hope you're wrong," Eon said as she looked towards the ground. "I really, really do." Another bit of laughter came from behind them, causing Eon to flinch. "Especially…listening to them now."

Axle nodded silently to Eon before they continued on. Ahead of them was a large hill that reached beyond where Axle could see and was tall enough that in a few hours it would block the sun. It was large, gray, and imposing, certainly a place one wouldn't go to normally. It also was out of the way, as the team had to walk hours through barren landscape before reaching the hill. It was quite possibly a good place for outlaws to hide out in. Axle still felt skeptical, but he had to admit that the placement was good at least.

Axle turned back to look at Skyla. "So, is this it?" Axle asked, not bothering to make sure Skyla and Shaymin were done talking with each other before speaking.

"Yeah, it's definitely the place," Skyla said. "If you were to fly up and look at the back of the hill, you'd find a hole there. It's too small to really fit through, but the sun can shine through there. I'd bet more than anything that's where they kept me. It's probably where they're keeping the other shaymin kids as well."

"Alright," Axle said. _A part of me wants to ask Shaymin to take a look at the hill just to be sure, but the other part doesn't have the heart to doubt Skyla's word. Besides, we'll find out soon anyways. All we need to do is reach the end of the dungeon and sees what lies at the end of it._

"We're almost there," Shaymin said as he looked at the cave. "Soon we're gonna go in, bash some outlaws, and save the shaymin kids." Shaymin jumped into the air and did a backflip. "I can't wait! It's time to finally put an end to things."

Axle nodded to Shaymin before looking back at Skyla. "First, we should get some quick strategy out of the way. Skyla, what are your battling capabilities?"

Skyla nearly snorted out laughing. "What do you think?" she asked. "I was captured, kept in a cave for who knows how long, and when I finally escaped I was beaten by a bunch of Wilds. I used to be pretty good, but it's been way too long. Sorry you guys, but you're on your own if we end up in a fight."

"I figured just about as much," Axle said. He took a quick glance at his entire team before kept his glance on Eon. "Alright, here's how we're gonna do things. Eon and I will take the front, as usual. Skyla, I want you to stay behind Eon, with Shaymin watching your back. That way, we can keep you away from attacks from behind. Should an enemy come from the front, Shaymin I want you to fly up to where Eon and I am and we'll form a wall between the enemy and Skyla to protect her. Should an enemy come from behind…"

Shaymin nodded before Axle was able to say anything else. "Yeah, I know," he said. "I'll make sure they don't touch her, even if I have to do it by myself. Don't worry about it. Any enemies that attack us from behind will feel sorry they ever even tried."

"Geez, you guys sure have things all figured out," Skyla said. "You do things like this before?"

"Escort missions aren't the most fun missions in the world, but we have done them before," Eon explained. "So yeah, we have experience in this. You can trust Team Aura."

"Well, feel free to have me do what you need me to," Skyla said cheerfully. "I'll try not to get in your guys' way too much."

"Just conserve your strength for now Skyla," Shaymin said. "That way you can get your swing at the outlaws after we're done with them."

"You bet Rainflower," Skyla said.

With strategy done, everyone walked into the cave. Unlike the Black Hole Cavern, this cave was a lot brighter on the inside, allowing everyone to see the tunnels of the cavern nearly perfectly. As such, they could see the dull gray walls that seemed to be chipped in several locations, as if someone did some sort of mining in these tunnels. As they continued walking further and further into the dungeon, the chips and cracks became more and more prevalent in the walls, as if there were more and more mining operations done further and further in.

"Strange place," Eon mused as they walked through. "Hey Skyla, do you know if there were ever any mining operations done in this place?"

"Hmm…maybe," Skyla said, her voice reverberating across the cave walls. "Wouldn't surprise me actually. I'd bet anything that the outlaws made this place their base because of how much gems are here."

"Wanna try keeping your voice down?" Axle growled.

"Why?" Skyla asked, completely disregarding Axle's suggestion.

It was just a couple of moments later when the three of them heard a deep growl followed by the sounds of thundering footsteps heading in their direction. Axle faced forwards, his right paw at the ready to attack, Eon ran to his right, and Shaymin flew over to his left, all getting ready to face his foe.

A rhyperior, who was nearly as tall as the tunnel was, came stomping imposingly towards the team. Its footsteps shook the ground as they walked, and Axle kept his eyes on the walls of the cave to make sure a cave-in didn't happen. Once the rhyperior reached uncomfortably close to the team, it lowered its head and roared at the crew.

"This is why," Axle groaned. "Shaymin, we need distance."

"On it," Shaymin said.

The grass/flying-type quickly launched an Energy Ball at the rhyperior, staggering it a bit. With it staggered, Axle ran up to the drill Pokémon and hit it hard with a strong Force Palm. Those two attacks were exactly what was needed to knock the rhyperior back a few feet, and even knock it down onto its back.

"Yeah, bigger they are, harder they fall!" Shaymin yelled, doing a backflip as he did so.

"Don't think it's over," Axle said knowingly.

Axle was right, as the rhyperior slammed its arm hard into the ground, causing the ground below them to shake violently. Shaymin and Skyla both flew off the ground to avoid the attack, but Axle and Eon weren't so lucky. It wasn't as strong as an earthquake, but Axle could feel his legs shaking and slowly giving way and he was sure Eon was feeling the same thing.

"B-bulldoze," Eon groaned. "I-it's an attack that…ahhhhiiiii!"

Axle felt his heart nearly stop at the sound of Eon's screams of pain. "E-Eon!" Axle groaned. "Shaymin, get her off the ground, now!"

"On it!" Shaymin announced.

Axle looked up out of the corner of his eyes to see Shaymin wrap his forelegs around the eevee and lift her off the ground. Despite still being in the midst of the Bulldoze attack, Axle breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Eon wasn't getting hit by the attack anymore. And eventually, the shifting ground stopped, and while Axle could still feel his legs shaking, he could breathe another sigh of relief knowing that the attack was over. Though the ground still shook as the rhyperior crawled slowly back up on its feet.

"The attack shakes the ground causing our legs to give way, making it difficult to move as well as we used to," Eon said from the air. "This isn't good. Axle, rhyperior have strong defenses, so you're not going to do much damage even with your advantage."

"I get the picture," Axle said. "Shaymin, put Eon on my back."

"You sure about that, Axle?" Eon asked.

The ground thundered as the rhyperior nearly finished getting up off the ground.

"We don't really have time to argue about this," Axle said. "Besides, we both knew something like this could happen."

Before Eon could argue another word, Shaymin lowered her onto Axle's back. Axle felt his legs nearly gave way at how unstable they already were combined with Eon's weight suddenly falling on his back, but he managed to keep himself steady through sheer force of will. Once the riolu got stable footing, Axle took a couple of steps back to put some distance between himself—and Eon by extension—and the rhyperior. He managed to do that just before the rhyperior was able to get on its feet and roar back at the crew.

"Eon, we need to distract the rhyperior," Axle said. "Shaymin, you attack it from above while we're distracting it. Skyla, try hiding somewhere a bit always so you don't get caught in the crossfire. Call us if you need us."

"Sure, why not?" Skyla asked, chucking.

"Roger," Shaymin said.

"On it," Eon said.

Axle backed up a bit, keeping Eon straight so that she could attack the rhyperior with a Shadow Ball attack. Eon did so without prompting, sending that ball of ghastly energy flying at the rock/ground-type. This caught the rhyperior's attention and it went charging at Axle and Eon at a decent pace. Axle, with the weight he was carrying, was just barely able to dodge out of the way in time, but he managed without accidently dropping Eon.

"Shaymin, fire!" Axle commanded.

Wordlessly, Shaymin launched another Energy Ball, this one causing the rhyperior to reel a bit upon impact. Eon didn't let it look towards Shaymin, though, as she let out a Hidden Power straight at the rhyperior to keep its attention on her. So Axle kept on his toes, prepared to dodge whatever attacks come his way.

"Axle, I think Shaymin's last attack might have lowered its defenses," Eon mumbled to Axle. "We should get ready one last attack. This includes you, by the way."

"Are you able to walk?" Axle asked.

"My paws feel fine," Eon said. "Trust me."

"Alright," Axle said back to her with a nod. "When I find an opening, I'll put you down."

Another charge came towards Axle, and Axle dodged out of the way of the attack. This attack caused the rhyperior to slam into the wall of the cave, and lodge itself into the wall. Axle could tell, by the way it struggled within its little crevice, that it was also stuck there, unable to get out. The riolu's eyes widened as he saw a chance.

Axle knelt down, letting Eon quickly jump off his back. As soon as she got off, Eon immediately shot a final Shadow Ball onto the rhyperior. Shaymin, seeing the state the rhyperior is in and Eon's attack, immediately caught on and launched an Energy Ball into the rhyperior. Axle let out a Bullet Punch to keep the rhyperior there allowing Eon and Shaymin to keep their attacks up. Eventually, the combination of attacks managed to finally knock the rhyperior down and out.

"Finally, it's over," Axle said with a sigh.

"Hey Skyla, you can come back now!" Shaymin called to his friend.

Skyla began walking back. "Hey you guys," she said. "I was wondering when you'd finally finish."

"That rhyperior was really strong," Eon said. "Stronger than a lot of Wilds we usually face. It's been a while since we've had a fight this tough."

"…I wonder," Axle mumbled to himself. He shook his head and spoke out loud. "Anyways, as of right now, we should get a move on. No use standing around here thinking of it until more Wilds start swarming us. There's bound to be a couple in the area that heard the sound made from this last battle."

"Yeah, we should hurry," Eon said with a nod. "I've been able to stand on my own for now, so don't worry about me."

"I'll try to be a little quieter too," Skyla said, though she said it at the same volume she usually spoke in.

"Let's just…get going," Axle said.

The four of them all walked off and continued on further into the cavern. As they walked through the dungeon they constantly encountered wild Pokémon, sometimes having several consecutive battles until they were able to go further into the dungeon. The team was starting to get tired as they went further and further into the dungeon.

As they were walking, Axle noticed something strange when it came to the battles they encountered. They mostly faced Ground-Types, and the wild Pokémon mostly attacked Axle and Eon. The riolu kept up a similar strategy to what he did with the rhyperior, having Eon and himself distract the Pokémon while Shaymin launched his attacks from above and afar, but even when Axle felt Eon and him were to slow at their distraction attempt, the Pokémon still focused on himself and Eon over Shaymin.

 _This can't be good,_ Axle thought. _No matter how I try to think about it, how many ways I try to swing it…_ Axle looked to his right to see Eon lagging behind him, limping due to all the stress the Ground-Types constant shaking put on her. He almost grew angry at seeing that, but he managed to take a deep breath and keep his emotions in check for now. _Let's just keep going for now. We'll find out soon._

The four of them continued walking until they reached a dead end. Axle, Eon, and Shaymin walked to the middle of the room, examining as much of the room as they could. It was a large, dome shaped room with not much going for it. There were ledges surrounding the perimeter high above, but there wasn't much distinct about them. What was most striking about the room though was that it was missing one crucial thing. Sunlight pouring down into it.

"Did we take a wrong turn or something?" Eon asked as she looked over the room. "It looks like we're at the end of the dungeon, but we haven't seen the kids or the outlaws. I thought this was where they were hiding out?"

Shaymin flew into the room and looked around as well. "Yeah, something feels wrong," he said. "Hey Skyla, you have any ideas?"

Axle, Eon, and Shaymin all looked back at Skyla to see her looking at the ground. "Skyla?" Shaymin asked again.

Skyla sighed. "…The kids aren't here," Skyla said. "They never were here."

"So, are you going to come out and say it?" Axle asked.

Skyla looked up at him. "So, you knew? Yet you still let me bring you here? I don't know what that says about you but…it doesn't matter much anymore."

"Skyla, what's going on?" Shaymin asked.

"Shaymin, she's one of the outlaws," Axle said. "Not only that, but the leader of the outlaws. She was the third voice I heard in my Dimensional Scream."

Skyla huffed. "Not sure about any 'Dimensional Scream' or whatever, but you're right. That semisage and gogoat you met, they're both my partners. And the three of us are going to be the ones who get Clover's treasure."

"Skyla, what?!" Shaymin asked. "What do you mean? Y-you can't be…"

Shaymin stopped in mid-sentence. "No, that's not right," Shaymin mumbled, mostly to himself though Axle and Eon could hear him. "It's not that you can't be, but I don't want you to be. I…saw the signs, I knew your story had a lot of holes in it, but I hoped it was just some misunderstanding." Shaymin looked at Skyla and raised his voice. "Skyla, why? What's going on?"

Skyla shook her head. "I can't let you guys get in our way. I've heard plenty about the 'great' Exploration Team Aura, enough to know you guys are going to be trouble if I leave you alone."

"So you plan to fight us?" Axle said, his paws balled into fists. "Don't pretend just because you're a Mythical Pokémon that this fight will be easy!"

"Yeah, I kinda guessed on that," Skyla said. "Luckily I've got a backup plan."

Suddenly, several large Pokémon fell from the ledges above the room, shaking the ground as they did so. There were about 20 of them that surrounded Team Aura, and they were all either Rock or Ground-Type, some a combination of the two. There were about four rhyperior as well, and Axle suspected one of them might have been the same rhyperior that they defeated before. On seeing all the enemies, Axle and Eon backed up towards Shaymin in a triangular position, getting close enough so that their three respective tails were touching.

"So, you brought backup?" Axle asked. "Cowardly tactic."

"Pfft, not like I care," Skyla huffed. "I've gone too far; nothing matters anymore. Besides, I told you guys, I heard all about you already. So when I sent a telepathic message to Semisage and Gogoat, and they told me you were coming, I knew I had to do something. All it took was making a few connections to the underground and finding a good place for a trap. So, how'd I do."

"How could you do this?!" Eon yelled. "Lie to Shaymin! Kidnap a bunch of kids! You're a despicable creep, you know that?!"

"So, this should be interesting," Skyla said, ignoring Eon's outburst. "Think you'll be able to take down all of these and me at the same time? Gonna admit, you get serious points from me if you do."

"Skyla!" Shaymin yelled to try and get her attention.

"Rainflower, I want you to come with me," Skyla said. "Leave your friends and help me search for Clover's Treasure. It'll be the adventure of a lifetime."

"Wait…what?!" Shaymin and Eon both asked.

"Rainflower, think about it," Skyla said. "We're both Mythical Pokémon. We're going to outlive pretty much everyone we know. So why shouldn't we stick together? You wanted some time to catch up with me, now's your chance."

"Skyla, these guys are my friends!" Shaymin said. "You're asking me to abandon them like this? Plus, you kidnapped a bunch of kids!"

"So what?" Skyla asked. "We're not hurting them or anything. They're all just fine. We're only keeping them until we find Clover's Treasure, then they can go back. It's not like it matters."

"You kidnap a bunch of kids and act like it doesn't matter?!" Eon asked. "Shaymin Village is in chaos because those kids are missing! Their parents are worried sick! Their friends are also probably really worried as well! Does that really sound like it doesn't matter?!"

"Skyla!" Shaymin called.

Skyla raised her right forepaw. "Make your choice now," she demanded.

"Skyla, please!" Shaymin pleaded. "Tell me why you're doing this! What happened?! Please, tell me and I can help you. I want to talk this out. I…don't want to…"

"So, you're sticking with your friends then," Skyla said with a worn out sigh. "Fine. Maybe you'll change your mind after we're done here."

Skyla lowered her paw, signaling the attack. On her signal, all the Pokémon around the arena called out a powerful roar that filled the cave with sound. Axle and Eon both covered their ears at the sound, but Shaymin just stood there, head lowered to the ground in depression.

"Shaymin, I don't think you're going to get any more info out of her," Axle said quietly to him. "We need to get out of here now."

"…Why?" Shaymin asked in a defeated tone.

"We can try to figure that out later," Eon said. "But we can't do that if we lose here. Axle, you ready?"

Axle chuckled. "You know it." Axle then turned to Skyla and looked at her. "You know it's funny, you're still underestimating us. You should have realized, if I had any inkling that you would be planning on betraying us, I would plan for it. We'll be back later for you."

With that, Axle quickly reached into his bag and pulled out a small glowing orb. "Escape Orb!" Axle yelled before shattering the orb on the ground. Once the orb broke upon impact, a brilliant sky-blue light rose from the ground to the sky, surrounding Team Aura. Once the light disappeared, Team Aura was no longer in that cave.


	10. Hard Thoughts in the Night

_Shaymin, now in his sky form, flew choppily through the air as his friend flew below him, making sure to be there in case Shaymin fell. Shaymin grimaced for a couple of seconds, before closing his eyes and trying to calm down a little bit. He fell a bit in the process, but was able to get back up into the air before falling on top of his friend and flew a little more smoothly._

" _Yeah, that's it!" Shaymin's friend exclaimed. "Calm. Free. That's how you should do things! If you try to fly while worried, you'll just fall. Instead, you need to fly more naturally, like it's second nature. Fly without trying to fly. Then you can just focus on enjoying it. That's how flying is done best."_

" _A-alright," Shaymin said. "Yeah, I think I'm getting it. I think I'm getting it!"_

" _Good. But I think that's enough for today. We've gotten a lot of progress and I think it's about time we stop for today. Either that or everyone in the village will complain about me pushing you too hard."_

" _A-alright," Shaymin said. He found a good place to land and did so, his friend following right behind him. They both landed on a small grassy plateau and stretched out after their flight._

" _But seriously, you've gotten pretty good at this," Shaymin's friend said. "In a little more, you'll be able to fly on your own. That's pretty cool, don't you think?"_

" _Yeah, it is," Shaymin said. "Hey, thanks."_

 _Shaymin's friend chuckled. "No problem. Now for the next project on our list!"_

" _Next…project?" Shaymin asked._

" _You said you've never climbed Sky Peak yet, right?" Shaymin's friend asked. "Well then let's go! It's time to hike all the way up that hill. Trust me, the view is amazing up there! You'll love it."_

"… _Will you hike up with me?" Shaymin asked. "I think…maybe together…we can make it up there."_

" _Of course," Shaymin's friend said. "I did say 'let's go' didn't I? I'll stick by you."_

" _Thanks but…" Shaymin looked towards the ground. "Hey ma'am…would you mind if I ask you something?"_

" _What I'd say about calling me ma'am?" Shaymin's friend asked, chucking all the way. "But that's beside the point. Go ahead and shoot."_

" _Why are you working so hard for me?" Shaymin asked. "I mean, I'm glad you are. I really am. I would've never flown on my own if it wasn't for you. But you're so amazing, you fly so gracefully, you're so nice and smart. Why would you want to hang out with me? I'm nothing but a timid, boring shaymin."_

" _I wouldn't say you're boring," Shaymin's friend said. "And as for the timid part, that's only temporary. Once you gain more confidence, you'll hardly be timid anymore. But as for why, well first off, you're the only one who cares about human history. Everyone else is too 'boring' to bother with that stuff, despite how fascinating it is."_

" _Yeah, it really is," Shaymin said. "Actually, thanks for the suggestion to look at flying techniques humans used to use for their weird crafts. While we're much more mobile than them while flying, it's still interesting to see what they did and really helped me think about things to do when I get a lot more proficient. I bet it's what helped you fly so gracefully too."_

" _Some of it, yeah," Shaymin's friend said with a nod. "Back on subject, that's one reason why I hang around. As for the other, I do really think you're interesting. You've got a lot of potential and it's really great seeing that potential grow. Plus, you are a really nice guy. From what I've gotten while hanging around you, you're timid mostly because you don't want to hurt anyone. That's pretty admirable if you ask me. Granted, not many shaymin ask me, but that's beside the point."_

" _Oh well uhh…t-thanks," Shaymin said with a blush. "I never really thought of it that way."_

 _Shaymin's friend chuckled. "Don't sell yourself short. I'm sure you'll become really great someday. We're Mystical Pokémon, so we've got a lot of time to grow like that. Just keep at it one step at a time and I'm sure you'll grow up great."_

" _You really think so?" Shaymin asked._

 _Shaymin's friend chuckled once again. "Yeah, you bet," she said. "Anyways, get some hiking gear ready, 'cause we're going to climb that mountain like it's no tomorrow. I'll teach you all about climbing it and I'll even show some secret stuff about it that they don't show on the tours. Heck, after I show you the ins and outs of the mountain, you might become a great tour guild one day."_

" _Do you really think that's possible?" Shaymin asked. "Me, being a tour guide one day?"_

" _Possibly. You seem like the type who'd be a great tour guide. Just keep growing and you'll be a great shaymin someday."_

* * *

Axle sat down on his bed in the infirmary, looking out the window in the room to the stars in the sky. It was well into the night, around midnight if Axle had any guess, but he couldn't fall asleep despite how late it was getting. His mind was reeling with thoughts about what happened the previous day.

Axle felt some fur brush at his right side. He looked down at the sleeping form of his partner to see that she accidently brushed to his side in her sleep. Her expression looked peaceful enough, so Axle could only guess that she was having a decent dream. Axle breathed a sigh of relief seeing that his partner was still doing well despite the trauma she went through.

"Luckily, you're going to be just fine according to Chimecho," Axle mumbled. "This shouldn't make you any worse then you already are. That's good."

Axle sighed. "Though Chimecho did recommend we take it easy for a couple of days, but we can't really do that. Not with what we have to do."

Axle next looked to his left where he saw Shaymin, now in his Land Forme, looking out the window to the stars as well. Shaymin had been mostly silent since they got back. He wasn't completely catatonic, but Axle had to carry him back to the guild and he hadn't moved around at all in the infirmary, even when being examined. The only movement he made was to look at the stars, otherwise he's hadn't done much. Axle didn't particularly blame him, especially not after all that they just went through.

 _To be betrayed by someone who he loved that much, I can't imagine it,_ Axle thought. He looked back over at Eon. _If it were Eon and me in place with him and Skyla…_ Axle shook his head. _Regardless, I've already warned Magnazone. Skyla, Simisage, and Gogoat are officially outlaws now and are officially marks. And I need to plan for our eventual encounter with the. Form a plan of attack…possibly without Shaymin's help. I don't know if he'll be up for but…I need to plan for that just in case._

Axle looked at his right paw for a couple of seconds. _Hmm…I wonder._

Axle looked back at Shaymin. "Hey Shaymin, I don't know whether you can hear me now or will even listen, but if you need to talk, I'm here. I don't know if I can help you, I'm honestly not as good with this as Eon is, but…"

"…t's alright Axle," Shamyin said softly, so softly that Axle could barely hear him. "I…I just need a moment."

"Take…all the time you need, I guess," Axle said.

Axle sighed, looking back down towards Eon. _I don't want to say it to him…but I honestly kinda hate Skyla right now. I…don't exactly want to but…_

"You guys…knew, didn't you?" Shaymin asked. "About Skyla, right? Would you mind, telling me what you two talked about?"

"I suppose you do deserve to hear this," Axle said. "I would have told you sooner but…" Axle shook his head. "Anyways, it happened after you and Skyla flew off."

" _We need to talk," Axle said decisively._

 _Eon nodded. "Axle, something feels wrong about Skyla's speech. Actually, a lot of things seem to be wrong with Skyla's speech. I mean, I really don't want to accuse her of anything, but noting she said really made any sense."_

" _I've noticed that too," Axle said._

" _Yeah like, she's been missing for more than a century according to Shaymin," Eon said. "But if she was actually captured by outlaws, how was she missing for over a century? Not many Pokémon live that long and I doubt Simisage and Gogoat are among them. Plus, what sort of outlaws capture a Pokémon and just leave them there for that long? It just…her story doesn't really make any sense."_

" _Not only that, but she apparently has been captured for years, yet she was in Sky Forme when we met her," Axle said. "We both know that shaymin lose their Sky Formes when night falls or when they get frozen. They can't go back to Sky Forme unless they use a Gracedia Flower. So there's no way she could possibly be in Sky Forme going from captured to trapped in a cave. That's just not possible."_

 _Eon sighed and gave a sad nod. "Yeah, exactly," she said. "Axle…what does it all mean?"_

" _She's lying to us," Axle said decisively. "I sensed her aura while she was talking to us just to make sure and I felt that she was blatantly lying. She wasn't trapped there and she hardly needed any help."_

" _It's…because she's the leader of the outlaws, isn't she?" Eon asked._

 _Axle closed his eyes and couldn't keep the smile off of his face. "I'm…pretty sure," Axle said. "Her voice matches the voice of the third outlaw I heard in my vision. I wasn't sure at first, since I wasn't able to see her figure and voices can sometimes be distorted in my visions, but as I sensed her lie and heard her lie, along with her voice, it's the only conclusion I could come to."_

"… _I don't want to believe it, though," Eon said. "I mean; this is the same Skyla that Shaymin thought was gone forever. This is the same Skyla that Shaymin was so happy to learn that she was alive. If that's true…and if Skyla really is an outlaw, then…"_

" _That'll break Shaymin's heart," Axle admitted. "As cruel as it is…I don't see any other possible reason for her to by lying to use. I'm…not positive though. Or at least, as positive as I want to be."_

" _So what are we going to do now?" Eon asked._

" _For now, we'll follow Skyla where she wants us to go," Axle said. "If she isn't lying, then we might just find the shaymin kids we're looking for. But if she is lying…she'll have to reveal it sometime. And when she does, then we'll know the truth. Us and Shaymin."_

" _And those orbs…" Eon said._

" _Are just in case she's leading us into a trap," Axle finished for her. "They're an Escape Orb and a Warp Orb. For Shaymin's sake, I don't want to believe she's leading us to a trap, but I want to be prepared just in case."_

"… _Alright," Eon said. "I…hope we're wrong though. I really do. For Shaymin's sake."_

After Axle finished his story, he heard Shaymin chuckle. It was a hallow laugh, one filled with pain and sadness, but it was still a laugh. Axle turned away from the Grass-Type during his laugh, looking instead towards Eon, his only confidant during that time.

"Hey Axle…thanks," Shaymin said. "If you're…worried about me being mad, don't. If I'm…being honest with myself, had you brought up suspicion to Skyla before, I might have hated you guys for it. I…guess I needed to hear the truth from Skyla first. I just…wish I knew what that truth is. Why did this have to happen?"

"I don't know," Axle admitted. "I know very little about Skyla, aside from what you've told me. So I can't really help you."

"Skyla…was really special to me, you know," Shaymin said. "It was somewhere around 30 years I knew her for. I know that probably sounds pretty long for you, but for me, it's barely a drop in the bucket. I'm expected to live probably somewhere over a thousand years. Possibly even more. It's said that there's a shaymin that's been living since the dawn of time. Compare that to 30 years and well…you can see how small that is. Yet those 30 years were some of the best years of my life."

"Skyla was always there for me those 30 years. Since the day I met her, she's made my life so bright. She was constantly there, pushing me to be a better Pokémon. She kept at it every second. We'd spend weeks together, talking, training, having a good laugh. There were times when I just wanted time to stop. The days feel so short, thinking back on them now. But I enjoyed each and every day. She brought so much joy to my life. …I truly loved her."

"The day I thought she died was the worst day of my life. It felt like a part of me died with her. Like half of my spirit went with her. I felt…empty. Gone. Especially knowing that I would now live hundreds if not thousands of years without her by my side. Even after I found meaning again by living a life I felt she would want me to live, the pain never went away. It healed after time, but it was never gone. It's like a scar that is constantly there to remind you of the pain you went through."

"Honestly, when I first met you guys, when I first explored with you guys, it reminded me of how Skyla and I used to be. Seeing Eon try so hard to be strong, try so hard to be like you, reminded me about how I tried so hard to be strong like Skyla. It helped fill a bit of the hole I felt after Skyla's death. I saw you guys…and I saw Skyla and I together again. Axle…I'm sorry. If I ever pushed you and Eon too hard to get in a relationship, I'm sorry. I just…I suppose I really wanted to have my past relationship by living through yours. I suppose even after all this time, the pain was still there, deep in my heart. Axle…I'm sorry."

"So then…what are you going to do now?" Axle asked. "If your reason for living was to live a life you thought Skyla would want you to live and she's…you know…what are you going to do now?"

"…"

Shaymin was silent for a few seconds, prompting Axle to look back outside at the stars. Axle stood there, wanting to stay awake for as long as possible until Shaymin decided to finally talk to him. Unfortunately, Shaymin didn't speak for a long while, and Axle felt himself being slowly lulled to sleep in the time it took Shaymin, especially the warmth from Eon's fur brushing into him made him quite comfortable. Axle eventually closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep with his partner by his side.

* * *

Shaymin looked over at Axle as he fell asleep. The riolu closed his eyes and fell over onto his partner, accidently cuddling up against her. Shaymin watched as he did that, and he couldn't help but laugh a bittersweet laugh at the sight to his right side.

"Even so…I still do want to see you two together," Shaymin said. "But that's a thought for another time. Now…Axle's question."

Shaymin looked out to the stars. "Who am I, if I can't live how Skyla would want me to. What do I do now?"

"Mmm uhhh?" Shaymin heard moaning from his right. He looked over there to see Eon was stirring in her sleep. Eventually, the eevee's eyes opened up and she looked around the area she was in, mostly to her right.

"Hey sleepyhead," Shaymin said.

"Oh, hi Shaymin," Eon said sleepily as she turned to face him. It was at that point in time when she noticed Axle was next to her, cuddling with her while also hanging over her. Her face immediately turned a dark red when she realized the situation she was in. "Oh uhh…this isn't what it looks like!"

"Don't worry about it," Shaymin said sadly. "You both just fell asleep, that's it."

Eon was left speechless for a couple of seconds. "…Wow, no innuendo or any other jokes? …This must be really hard on you, huh?"

"Yeah, it was," Shaymin said. "You know…I want to ask you what you'd do in my situation. If someone like Axle was missing, assumed dead, for a long time and when you finally meet him again, he became an outlaw. But…I already know the answer to that."

Eon nodded and looked at Axle. "I would go looking for them myself and bring them into the authorities. It'd hurt, it really would, fighting someone I love. But I think it'd hurt even worse watching them do bad things, hurting other Pokémon, knowing I could possibly do something to help. If they're brought to the authorities, there's a chance that they can turn their life around. So I'd help them more by bringing them in then just leaving them. At least, that's what I think."

"I…know that but…" Shaymin shook his head. "I have so many questions. I don't know why she's doing this. I don't know what happened to her. And I really want to know. I just…want to understand why this is happening."

Shaymin could fell water falling from his eyes as the tears started running and he started crying. The Grass-Type's speech became muddled and ended up coming out as whimpers as he bawled right there in the infirmary. For what felt like more than half-an-hour, Shaymin let all of his emotions out.

"Shaymin…we'll just have to ask her then, won't we?" Eon said.

Shaymin looked back up and looked at Eon. "W-what?" Shaymin asked.

"We're still going after those outlaws," Eon said. "Skyla included. And when we're doing that, she can't really trap us anymore, can she? We'll next meet her on equal footing. So then…that's when we'll ask her. I don't know how we'll convince her to tell us, but we have to."

"You think we can?" Shaymin asked.

Eon nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I'll make sure to tell Axle that too, in the morning, so that we're all on the same page. Tomorrow, we'll make sure you finally learn the truth."


	11. Preparing to Dive

The next morning Team Aura woke up, for the first time in years, to the sound of the guild member Loudred's voice waking everyone else up. He didn't specifically yell in their room to wake them up, but the loudness of his sound as he woke the other recruits up managed to ring across the walls of the guild and reach the infirmary. That, combined with the fact that the members of Team Aura were having trouble sleeping anyways, easily woke them up.

After some quick embarrassment and separation by Axle and Eon when they realized what position they woke up in, Axle took a quick look at both his teammates. Eon looked fine and her injuries from yesterday had seemed to mostly healed up by the way she was getting up and moving. Shaymin, on the other hand, looked half-dead and emotionally drained from all that happened yesterday. Axle took note, mentally thinking of possibilities and preparing for any of them to come true.

"So, are we ready?" Axle asked, to make sure his suspicions were correct.

"I'm feeling…better," Eon said. "I think I should probably stay away from any and all Ground-Type's today, but beyond that, I'm good." Eon sighed and whispered to herself, "Makes me kinda wish there was a Flying-Type eeveelution for me to evolve into."

"What about you Shaymin?" Axle asked.

"…Right now it doesn't matter," Shaymin said. "I…need to see Skyla. I have to talk to Skyla."

"Yes, but we need you to be ready for when that happens," Axle said. "We'll probably have to go through another dungeon to get there. So you're going to have to pull your weight as well to get there."

Shaymin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, a new determination was on his face. "Yeah, I know," Shaymin said. "Sorry. I'm…still trying to get over some things, but I need to see Skyla! So no matter what it takes, I'll find her."

"Don't push yourself too hard, Shaymin," Eon said. "If you're really not feeling up to it, Axle and I can go alone and just drag Skyla back here."

"No, I have to go," Shaymin said. "I…I just have to."

"I…understand that feeling I guess," Eon said, looking to the floor in pain. "Just…try not to get yourself hurt."

"I won't," Shaymin promised. "After all, I have you guys with me as well. And the power of your love can overcome everything."

Axle wanted to roll his eyes at another one of Shaymin's antics, but his voice lacked the usual cheer when he made a statement like that, so Axle left him alone for now. "Let's just go find Chatot and see if he's got another location for us to look at," he said.

"Yeah," Eon said. "Chatot should be in his usual place outside of the guildmaster's office."

The team nodded before leaving the infirmary. Since the infirmary and the guildmaster's office were on the ground floor, the trio was able to locate Chatot quickly. As such, they all walked up to the guild's head of intelligence and got his attention easily.

"Hey Chatot, do you have any new information?" Eon asked.

"Not stopping by to say 'hello' then," Chatot said wearily. "To answer your question, yes I have indeed been thinking about it, and there is a location I have for you to check. I must warn you, though, these next clue hasn't been easy to decipher."

"I honestly haven't been thinking about the clue," Shaymin admitted. "But what've you got?"

"'The undersea ruins of an ancient civilization,'" Chatot quoted. "The difficult part of this clue is, if the civilization was ancient by the time of Clover's adventures, then it's hard to imagine how old the place is now."

"It makes sense," Eon said. "If Clover's stories are really old, then trying to find something that's ancient by her standards would be really difficult. That must go back thousands of years ago, probably sometime to around the Era of Humans. And finding an undersea ruins like that…"

Chatot nodded. "Underwater ruins aren't uncommon. According to Water-Type explorers, there are vast reaches of underwater ruins that are difficult to access. Of course, most of them would be difficult, if not impossible, for land-dwelling Pokémon to access. But there are areas of interest, including one that I believe is where Clover might have gone."

"You have a spot?!" Shaymin asked hopefully. "We've got a location?"

"Of course," Chatot said. "I'm not the guild's head of intelligence for nothing."

Axle and Eon both looked at each other, having an unspoken conversation between each other, before looking back at Chatot.

"Anyways, there's one particular ruins underwater that comes up in rumors from Water-Type explorers every now and again," Chatot explained. "Whenever they whisper about it, though, they tend to talk about it as if they fear it. Those ruins apparently are completely alien to the Pokémon who end up there, making them currently unexplored. I have no clue what you'll exactly find there, but I imagine if there's any location is where Clover's treasure is hidden, it's there."

"You sure about that?" Shaymin asked. "We can't miss this. We're running out of places to find the outlaws. Soon, they'll get away with everything. And if that happens…" Shaymin trailed off.

"I wish we knew what they were even finding inside those dungeons," Eon said. "I never really thought of it while we were just searching for those outlaws, but we really know nothing about what they're finding at the end of those dungeons. Skyla didn't really tell us any information either, probably on purpose. What is Clover's treasure exactly?"

Shaymin shook his head. "The treasure of Sky Peak is all I really knew about. Though if I had any guess, Clover's treasure must be something distinct to her. Something she valued more than anything. Unfortunately, I can't remember Clover's stories well enough to know what she had. Some shaymin kids might know, but I don't."

"It's just a thought anyways," Eon said. "If we knew something about the treasure they're going after, it might make things easier. But if not…then we'll just have to go things how we've been doing. Hopefully this time, we'll get ahead of them and find a clue first."

"Yeah, let's go," Shaymin said.

"I sent a letter to Lapras yesterday before settling down in the infirmary, so he should be at the beach again today," Axle said. "Even if it's vague, let's still hurry over there. We don't have a lot of time to contemplate it, and even if there is nothing there, the outlaws might also search that place and we could still easily run into them."

"And even if they split up again, I'd bet more than anything Skyla would take that place," Eon said with a nod. "But just in case…Chatot, any other ideas."

"Unfortunately, no," Chatot said. "There are many rumors of underwater ruins within the large expanse of sea to the northwest, but it's hard to pinpoint a specific one that Clover would have gone to back then. If you do find that those ruins aren't the one you're looking for, I can point you towards several other ruins rumored to be around there, but those ruins are just as skeptical as this one. I only point you here because it's the most likely."

"Well please, point those locations on our map," Eon asked. "It'd be nice to have a backup just in case."

Chatot sighed. "If you insist."

* * *

With preparations out of the way, Team Aura rode on Lapras's back into the great expanse of sea to the northwest. From there, all they could mostly see was sea. They quickly moved past the point where they could see their home continent and beyond that, the only scenery that was available aside from the blue waves, the blue sky, and the occasional cloud was the random island in the distance they passed by. Beyond that, the sights were mostly empty.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Axle asked from his spot behind Lapras's neck.

"According to Chatot, there's a certain spot of ocean that's a bit of a different color," Eon said. She was lying in the middle of Lapras's back, looking at a map. "If we dive in there, we should run into a Mystery Dungeon. At the end of that dungeon, that's where we'll find the ruins."

"Well, at least we'll get to go through a water dungeon before we reach the ruins," Shaymin said. "Should be easy enough."

Axle looked back to see his friend, back in his Sky Forme once again, looking into the water at his reflection once again. Despite the hours that had passed, and despite his resolve, Axle could still hear the hurt in his voice. Looking forwards, Axle's thoughts continued to be all about Shaymin.

 _I hate to think about this, but can I rely on him in the coming fights?_ Axle thought. _I hope I can at least rely on him in the dungeons, but I can sense his resolve wavering. Should we run into Skyla again, and should we be unable to get her to talk, Shaymin might not be able to fight with us. If that's the case, it'll be Eon and I against two fully evolved Pokémon and a Mythical. The odds aren't with us._

Axle shook his head. _I keep going back to that. I've got to stop doing that. Shaymin is my friend. He'll be strong. He just has to find something else to rely on. Something outside of living for Skyla. Once he does that, he'll be fine. But he needs to find that answer now._

Axle thought for a couple more seconds before coming out and saying it. "How's your resolve Shaymin?"

Shaymin paused for a moment before looking out into the waters. "…Don't know," he admitted. "I think I know what you're worried about and I don't know. What'll happen after we talk to Skyla? I…really can't say. I don't know if I can fight her. I don't want to fight her. I want things to go back to the way they were before. I…I know it's selfish of me. Life doesn't exactly work like that. But…"

"We're here," Eon said suddenly, snapping Axle and Eon out of their chat. Both of them looked over to see what Eon saw, a small shining area in the sea that signified a dungeon within the vicinity. It was still a few yards ahead of them and a bit to the left at 11:00, but they could all see it.

"Hmm…the water around here feels odd," Lapras mentioned. "It feels as though there are toxins in the waters. I would be wary you three. While the state of the waters shouldn't bother you in the dungeon, be careful for the enemies that would be there."

"Thanks for the warning Lapras," Eon said.

"I'll bet on Water/Poison types then," Axle mumbled to himself. "Interesting."

A few moments later, Lapras stopped so the silver ripples of water were right off his left side, close enough for the team to dive into. "I'll wait around these waters for your return," Lapras said before they disembarked. "Though if an emergency happens and you decide to head back through Warp Orb, like last time, you know what to do."

"Thanks for helping us, Lapras," Eon said her thanks. "It's really great knowing we have someone like you to take us places like this."

"Anything for the chosen of the Relic Fragment and the team that stopped the destruction of the world twice," Lapras said with a nod. "Good luck on your endeavors."

The trio all gave a nod of thanks to Lapras before they all jumped down into the sea. The trio all had dived into water based Mystery Dungeons before, but the experience was still a mystifying one. Water dungeons had this strange pocket of air within them that allowed those who dive in to breath, even at the deepest depths of the sea. Until they were in the actual dungeon, though, they had no air to breath, and areas over Mystery Dungeons tended to pull explorers down into them. So an explorer had to calm themselves down and go with the flow until they reach the actual dungeon, lest they run out of air before making it. Between the team, Eon was always the one who had the most difficulty with this fact.

"Ha…ha…ha…we…made…it," Eon stuttered out when they finally reached the dungeon, their paws touching solid ground just a foot under water. She was nearly knelled over, eyes closed, and gasping for air like it's the last thing she'll breath. "I…hate…water…dungeons."

Axle crossed his arms and looked around. "Your difficulty getting into water dungeons aside, you might want to look around this place. It's…interesting to say the least."

Eon opened up her eyes and gasped at what she saw. Normally, water dungeons had clear blue water across the ground, rocks rising up from the ground far above. When looking up, one would see what appears to be the sky, but if a Pokémon were to fly up, they would immediately hit a barrier of water that would prevent them from flying any further. That's how most water dungeons are, a pocket of air between two areas of water with rocks all around. In this dungeon, however, the waters below their feet and above them were painted a yellow-greenish color. The rocks were a pure white, to the point where they looked more like metal than rocks. Finally, there were these random greenish black spots within the water that the team was immediately weary about.

"What…is this place?" Eon asked. "When Lapras mentioned toxins, I didn't imagine this."

"Definitely different than all other water areas we've been in," Axle mentioned. "Should be interesting to see just what lies at the end of this."

Axle looked over to his two teammates. "Let's hurry. This time, I want to make sure we beat the outlaws to the bottom."


	12. The Nature of Dungeons

As Axle suspected, the toxic waters of the dungeon were filled with Poison/Water-types. Among those that Axle recognized was the Jellyfish Pokémon, Tentacruel, and the pufferfish-like Balloon Pokémon, Quilfish. There was also a Pokémon that Axle at first mistook for kelp, but turned out to be a Pokémon itself with a sea horse-like body underneath the seaweed, which Eon identified as a Pokémon called Dragalge. There were also several more Pokémon in the mix, though Quilfish, Tentacruel, and Dragalge were the most common Pokémon.

Luckily, Team Aura was well equipped to pass through the dungeon without too much difficulty. Shaymin, determined to reach the end and find Skyla, was able to sweep through most Pokémon in the area with either a well-placed Energy Ball shot or a Psychic blast. Should one of the members get poisoned by one of the poison-types they encountered, Shaymin's Purify Veil would heal them of their condition easily, and give Shaymin health to boot. So they quickly made it through to the bottom of the dungeon, where light started to dim.

"Almost there," Shaymin mumbled after knocking out one more dragalge.

"Can you sense it?" Eon asked. Axle and her were standing side-by-side behind Shaymin, as Axle planned for them to be.

"Just a feeling I've got," Shaymin said. "You know, we've been exploring for so long, that I can sort of feel when we're close to the end. Can't you two?"

"It's probably you, but it's also probably not an exploration instinct," Axle speculated. "You're a Mythical Pokémon with the power to purify toxins; I'm sure this place is having an effect on you. So if we're getting closer to the toxins source, you might be able to instinctively tell."

"Hmm…maybe…" Shaymin mumbled. "I do feel really weird. Still…"

"Wait," Eon said as a sudden thought reached her. "If the toxins are getting worse and we're searching for the ruins then...does that mean the source of the toxins and the 'ruins' in Clover's story are one and the same?"

Axle crossed his arms. "That's…possible yet terrifying. We won't know until we get there, but let's remain cautious from here on out."

Shaymin and Eon both nodded and the trio continued onwards. It only took a couple more minutes before they finally all reached the end of the dungeon. Once they reached the end, they ended up seeing a decently sized circle of white within all the green water.

"What's…" Eon was about to ask, but Axle shook his head.

"We'll figure out when we inspect it," Axle answered. "Shaymin, try flying over and seeing if that while circle is safe."

"Alright," Shaymin said. He quickly jumped up and flew over to the circle. After a few seconds of hovering over it, inspecting it from the air. After a few seconds he called back to his friends, "It looks to be alright. At least, I don't see anything too dangerous on it. There's writing on it, but I can't make heads or tails of what it says. It's written in some weird runes."

Axle and Eon both nodded before walking closer to the small circle. When Axle got close enough to inspect it, he noticed that there was a circular grove along the perimeter and a small grove in the center that almost looked like a handle. He could also see the writing that Shaymin pointed out, but he couldn't make out the runes any more than the Grass/Flying-Type could.

"Hmm...I'm not sure what this is, but I think I know a little about the writing on it," Eon said as she walked up to it. "Those runes…I think that's the writing humans used to use."

"Wait, that's human writing?" Shaymin asked. "You sure of that?"

"I'm not positive," Eon admitted. "You can see evidence of slight erosion here and there and we don't have too many examples of human text, so it's difficult to say for sure, but I'm pretty sure I've seen similar runes escribed to human text."

"So then…do you know what it says on there?" Shaymin asked.

"No, sorry," Eon admitted. "Even if it is in the same language we use, I don't recognize the runes so I can't translate it."

"How has there only been 'slight erosion'?" Axle asked. "You'd think being down here for so long, especially in poisonous water, would cause the writing, and heck the entire object, to be eroded through already."

"Not in a Mystery Dungeon," Eon said. "Despite twisting space around within them, Mystery Dungeons are able to preserve a lot of artifacts from past eras within them. Perhaps it's because along with the twisting of space, time is also slightly distorted within them. Or maybe the factors that cause erosion over time aren't a factor in dungeons for some reason. Regardless, archeologists have often asked explorers to search dungeons for artifacts from all sources of history. It's also suggested that, despite how ancient they should be, the few labs that still exist are only around because they were Mystery Dungeons for a while, preserving them. Granted, this also makes dating the world rather difficult, as…"

"Sorry for cutting you off, Eon, but we don't have time to get into the details," Axle said, interrupting her.

"Sorry," Eon said. "But if this is indeed human runes, that confirms a couple of things for us. First off, this dungeon has probably existed for a very long time to keep this object as preserved as it is. Second…"

"This was human made," Axle agreed with a nod. "And if this place is connected to the ruins we're looking for, then I have no doubt that these ruins are old enough to be ones that Clover would have gone to."

"Yeah, human culture is so old I'm not even sure if there's a shaymin currently alive that was around back then," Shaymin said. "That's how old it is. Only Legendary Pokémon would have been alive around that time."

Axle listened to Shaymin, but he was more interested in the while circle. He grasped the grove in the center with his paws while kneeling on the outside. Holding it, Axle tried spinning it around to see what happened. His spinning worked and he eventually was able to lift the cover up and reveal a hole with a ladder leading downwards.

"Hmm…Shaymin, would you mind checking down there to make sure there's nothing poisonous down there?" Axle asked.

"I don't sense anything, but sure," Shaymin said. "Better safe than sorry. Although…"

Before finishing that though, Shaymin immediately jumped down the hole. He was silent for a few seconds, then a minute. Axle and Eon looked at each other while the wait went longer and longer. Eon eventually even looked down the hole herself to see if she can find any inkling of where Shaymin was, but the darkness down there prevented her from seeing any sign of green or white.

"…Guys, you might want to check this place out," Shaymin finally said from below. "It's safe but…"

Axle and Eon both looked at each other before they both climbed onto the ladder and walked down. As they climbed down, they eventually fell into darkness for a while, all light lost from around them. However, they could still see a light below them, so they still kept it up with their climbing down. Eventually, the light surrounded them, but the ladder stopped. Luckily, it was only a short drop to a white floor, so Axle and Eon were able to jump down to the bottom and enter the room with Shaymin.

"Alright, we're here," Axle said, locating Shaymin as soon as he could before quick checking out the room. "So what's…" Axle's voice quickly cut out as he further examined the room.

Like the floor, the room was completely white, pure white, to the point where it was almost blinding. The only exceptions were various amounts of greenery, probably seaweed, scattered around the place and the windows that were numerous along the walls of the rooms and corridors of the place they were in. The windows were even stranger, though, in two different ways. First off, outside of them one could see the water, but there had to be something in between the window and the water, otherwise the place would be flooded. Said object would also have to be clear in order to allow one to actually see the water. Second, despite the fact that the waters Team Aura entered this place through were green and poisoned, these waters were completely normal. It was a stark contrast that it baffled the three explorers. Axle was especially floored, but for a largely different reason.

 _The looks of this place, the feeling I get here…I feel strange looking at this place,_ Axle thought. _And I've felt this strange feeling before. When was it again…?_

"Yeah…see what I was saying?" Shaymin asked. "This place…is kinda weird."

"I…think that might be 'glass'," Eon said as she walked over to the nearest window to feel it. "It's something you can see a lot of if you find the labs that were abandoned by humans after…they all left. At least…that's what I think it is. I've never seen it before today."

"Hmm…this might just be the ruins we're looking for," Axle said, staring at the windows that Eon was still touching. "But here's an odd thing. The waters were green above us, but they're blue here. How?"

"Hey guys, I found something," Shaymin said from off in the distance. "Try coming over here."

Axle walked down the hallway Shaymin's voice was coming from, Eon following close behind, until they located their friend again. Shaymin was looking at something, which Axle quickly identified as a large screen with the same runes that were on the cover they removed to get here. Below the screen there were a bunch of groves with more runes on them that seemed to be able to pressed down.

"Any ideas what this thing is?" Shaymin asked.

"No," Eon also said, "but I wish I did. I wish I did a little more research on human labs. But we don't have any around here, so I thought I'd wait to do more research on them when we needed it more. Guess I was wrong."

"I…think it's called a computer," Axle said. _…I get it now. Back when I went to Fogbound Lake…then the Northern Desert…finally in the future. That's when I've felt this before. I know this place._ Axle took a look around. _No…that's not right. If the only way to access this place is through the waters before, I would have recognized them before. But I at least have seen places like this._

"Hmm…" Shaymin walked closer and pressed one of the keys. When he did so, a strange mechanical voice spoke from the computer.

"Hydroelectric power supplies are still operational. What is your command?"

Axle, Eon, and Shaymin all gave each other confused expressions at the sound of the computer talking. They were stunned, flabbergasted at what they heard, and neither one of them could speak for a while. It took a couple of minutes before Eon broke the silence, speaking as softly as she could.

"What in the world was…that?"

Shaymin shook his head. "Heck if I know," he whispered.

They both looked towards Axle, the riolu having already turned his gaze to the screen in front of them. He continued staring at it for a couple of seconds, his mind whirling about as he thought through some things. He eventually decided to speak up, his words directly aimed at the computer in front of him.

"Computer, what is your primary function?" Axle asked in a commanding voice.

"This facility is the Coral Sea purification plant," the computer responded to him. "After an attack by a villainous team, the waters around here were learned in the later years to be toxic. This plant was created to purify the toxic waters and allow Water Pokémon to once again thrive in these seas. This unit exists to monitor the plant and insure that it is functioning properly."

"So this place was built to purify the waters?" Eon asked. "But we had to go through toxic waters to get here. So what's going on?"

Axle took Eon's question and turned it into a command. "Computer, diagnose for problems."

"Malfunction in purification chamber 11," the computer responded once again. "Unknown object jammed into processor. Please remove unknown object with cation."

"Uhh…what?" Shaymin asked.

"Axle, do you know what's going on?" Eon asked.

"Not exactly," Axle admitted. "I'm mostly going off instinct here. I…think I might've been in a lab like this once, at least some time when I was still a human. So I'm mostly just acting based on that."

"And do you know what that whole 'malfunction in purification chamber' means?" Shaymin asked.

"This place was apparently built to purify some waters," Axle said. "Considering the state of the waters we got here through, it's not working that well. It could be because of how old this place is, especially if it was built by humans, but if there's something jammed into the 'processor' or whatever of one of the purification chambers, that might be it. Also, we're searching for an 'unknown object' aren't we?"

"So you're saying one of the clues to Clover's treasure is accidently jamming this place up?" Shaymin asked.

"It's a possibility," Axle said. "It could very easily be wrong or unrelated. But it at least gives us a direction to search. Clover might have put it there, not knowing what she was exactly doing. But we could still also be in completely the wrong area. These could not be the ruins Clover was thinking of."

"Could you just ask the computer to look around the place and see if there's anything else?" Shaymin asked.

Axle shrugged and looked to the computer. "Computer, are there any other unknown objects?"

"Unknown. This computer cannot detect anything unrelated to its primary programming. However, it is…unlikely. No other being has entered the premises between when scans first noticed the malfunction and when you entered."

"So, once again, unlikely," Axle finished.

"Let's at least look there for now," Eon said. "If we can stop the waters above us from being messed up as they are…then we'd at least have accomplished something. I'd feel satisfied accomplishing that at least."

Axle nodded before looking at the computer. "Where is purification chamber 11?" Axle asked.

"If you are facing me, continue along the path to your left. Upon reaching a circular room, take the third door to the left and continue on from there. Use caution, however. An unknown anomaly has been detected between here and purification chamber number 11. As it is on the path, and therefore our equipment is unaffected by it, this unit cannot scan further to understand the exact nature of the anomaly. It appears to be spatial in nature, though."

Axle, Eon, and Shamyin all looked at each other. "A Mystery Dungeon," they all said at the same time.

Axle turned back to the computer one last time. "Thank you for the warning. We'll be off now."

"This unit wishes you 'good luck' on your endeavor. Continue working for a better world for the next generation."

And with that, the computer screen reverted back to how it looked when Shaymin first found it. Team Aura quickly nodded to themselves before they all started the journey in the direction the computer told them to go. Along the way, however, Eon kept taking longing looks back towards the computer. During one of those times when Eon was looking back, Axle inquired.

"What's on your mind, Eon?" Axle asked.

"I just…wish we had more time," Eon said. "I'd really like to probe that computer a bit more. Here we have a fully preserved intelligence from the Era of Humans. Can you imagine how much information that computer could give us about the lives of our ancestors? It lived in a world completely alien to us that we have so little information about. We might not be able to figure out how much time has passed, we could still get so much information if we just tried. But…"

"We need to focus," Shaymin finished for her.

"I hope it continues running for a bit longer," Eon said. "This plant might fully shut down at any time now. It's probably been so long that it's a miracle anything about it is still working. I'd really like to come back here someday, through fresher waters, and see what info we can learn from it."

"But for now…" Axle stopped as the trio reached the round room the computer was talking about. The room was pretty plain, with only a table in the center and several doors surrounding the walls of the room. Each door had a note on it with the same runes that have been used throughout the rest of the laboratory. Axle's eyes immediately turned three doors to the left and made a beeline towards the door the computer indicated. "…we have to find the clue to Clover's Treasure. We have more important things to worry about on our plate."

"And we have to find Skyla."


	13. Poisonous Past

As the computer warned them, Team Aura quickly ended up in a Mystery Dungeon on their way to purification chamber 11. It was a stark contrast, going from a pretty well ordered hallway to a labyrinth of rooms and hallways strewn chaotically. It was also filled with a combination of Electric-Type and Steel-Type enemies, and some of both types. Small yellow spiders and a larger variance that Eon identified as joltik and galvantula respectively, magnemite and magneton, and these gear-like Pokémon that Eon identified as klink and klang.

"Klink and klang?" Axle asked after fending off one of them with a solid Force-Palm. "That's seriously what these gear things are called?"

"I'm pretty sure," Eon said. "I don't have an exact encyclopedic knowledge over every Pokémon in existence, but I'm pretty sure those are called klink and klang."

"What do you think they're doing here anyways?" Axle asked. "The computer didn't mention anyone else but us here."

"I'm not sure, but considering this area has turned into a Mystery Dungeon, I'm guessing that might have to do with the flux of Pokémon," Eon said in a thoughtful voice. "Or they might have come from a different source. There is the possibility that they were the original workers here as well, turned Wild by the Mystery Dungeon. There's really no way to tell." Eon looked over at Shaymin. "Hey Shaymin, what do you think?"

Shaymin was looking forward, and by the looks of things, he was lost in his own thoughts. He didn't react to Eon's inquiry, nor did it even seem that he noticed Eon said anything. Axle had a few guesses on what the Grass/Flying-Type was thinking about and understood why he was so silent.

"The good news is, if that computer is right, and if this is where the clue to Clover's treasure is, then we might make it first," Axle said, changing the subject to suit Shaymin. "Which means all we need to do is wait there for Skyla to make her appearance."

"Think so?" Shaymin asked, though Axle could tell by his voice that the Grass/Flying-Type wasn't that hopeful.

"I'm sure!" Eon said. "Let's get moving a bit faster; make sure we get there in time."

Axle stopped at those words. "You sure about that, Eon?" Axle asked. "Are your legs fine?"

"I've mostly recovered from the shaking ground last dungeon," Eon said with a nod. "I'm good for a bit. Don't worry, Axle, I know my limits."

Axle crossed his arms. "I hope so," he said. "We may have a fight ahead of us."

"Do you think there's a way not to fight?" Shaymin asked, a forlorn hope in his voice.

Axle crossed his arms and thought about things for a few seconds. "…I have a plan," Axle said. "I don't know if it will work, but it will at least give us a chance. But we need to get that clue before Skyla does."

Shaymin looked up from his moping to look Axle in the eyes. Axle stood there, unflinchingly, and eventually Shaymin took that as confidence and nodded. For the first time in a while, a smile appeared on the deer-like Pokémon's face. He quickly looked forwards, towards their destination, and began the walk with a renewed strength. Axle and Eon took that as a good sign, and as such, the three of the picked up the pace a little and started running towards their destination ahead.

A little while later Team Aura eventually reached a dead end. When Team Aura reached that room, they stopped to assess what the area looked like. There, they once again saw a strange and different sight. On the wall in front of them, they could see three blue indents convexing outwards from the walls. On top of the indents, a couple of feet above the three explorers, there were three little windows. Sitting next to them was another computer, similar to the one Shaymin accidently activated previously.

"Hmm…alright, what do we do now?" Eon asked. "Are we even in the right place?"

"There's only one way to find out," Axle said. "Shaymin, I want you to look through those windows and see what you can find. Eon and I will try and figure out what this computer has."

"On it," Shaymin said, immediately flying up to the windows.

While he was doing that, Axle and Eon walked over to the computer and stood right in front of it. Like before, it had several keys with strange faded runs on it. The only difference was that there was no light on the computer screen. Also like before, Axle and Eon stood before it with no clue as to what they should do with the strange object.

"Do you…think this computer can listen to our voice like the previous one?" Eon asked.

Axle shrugged his shoulders. "Computer, we're here to fix the problem in Purification Chamber 11. Give us a diagnosis."

Axle and Eon waited a couple of seconds for a response, but as the seconds ticked by, no response was given by the computer. They stayed for a few more moments, but nothing changed about their situation. Axle crossed his arms and groaned at the unresponsiveness of the computer.

"I don't think this is working," Eon said.

"Yes, that is a pretty good assessment of what's going on right now," Axle said, keeping his anger of his voice. He looked to his left towards Shaymin. "Hey Shaymin, you see anything?"

"Lots of green," Shaymin answered.

This got Eon's attention as well, and both of them looked over in Shaymin's direction. "Lots of green?" Eon asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"For some reason, there's a lot of greenery in these windows," Shaymin said. "It looks like…roots of some kind. …Do you guys…think…"

"…Shaymin, could you give Eon a boost up?" Axle asked. "Maybe she'd recognize the plants."

Shaymin took a couple of seconds, of which he looked like he was in another world, before he noticed Axle's words. Without saying anything, Shaymin surrounded Eon with his purple psychic aura. Gently, he lifted the eevee off her paws and into the air and pulled her over to the window. There, he levitated Eon for a couple of seconds to let her see what was beyond that window.

"…Poisonpoint Root," Eon eventually said. "I…think that's what it is."

"Poisonpoint Root?" Axle asked.

Shaymin let Eon down, himself flying to the ground, so Eon could talk about the plant she saw beyond the window. "Poisonpoint Root," Eon said. "They're plants named after the ability many poison-types have due to the similarities between them. Poisonpoint has small pink barbs along the root that can cause poison to any Pokémon who touches it, steel and poison-types notwithstanding. That poison can easily be countered with a Pecha Berry, but they can be dangerous if encountered without a Pecha nearby."

"And could that poison be transferred, say to water?" Axle asked, to get to the point in question.

"I'm…not completely sure," Eon admitted. "Poisonpoint normally grows in more desolate areas. You're more likely to find them in barren plains or deserts, places like that. They protect the greater plant from getting eaten for its water. How or why a plant like this exists here is beyond me. But…considering what we saw of the waters…"

"Combined with the fact that it's clogging the purification process, that's probably a good guess, right?" Axle finished for her.

"So…what that means is…Clover's Treasure…" Shaymin began to ask, but he couldn't find the words to say it.

"…The clue to Clover's Treasure is not causing the jam at least," Axle finished for him. "We don't know with absolute certainty whether it's here or not, but if it is we're on the wrong trail."

Shaymin sighed. "Let's…just get this place working again."

"I'm sorry Shaymin," Eon apologized.

Shaymin sighed. "You don't have to apologize. We knew from the start that the clue to Clover's Treasure might not be here. We can still at least do something for the waters around here. I'm sure…there are those who would appreciate that."

Axle examined his friend's slumped face. While Shaymin didn't say it, Axle could tell exactly what he was thinking. _Back then…I'm sure the Skyla I knew would want me to do this._

Axle shook his head before he started doubting his friend, and looked towards the computer for the task at hand. _Hmm…if we knew how to work this thing, we could try and figure out some things, but even if we did, I doubt we could read the runes that would appear on it. So if we can't do that…there's only one last thing to do._

Axle walked up to the computer and placed his paws in the keyboard, not to type in it, but just to touch it. As his paws fell onto the cold unknown substance that the keyboard was made of, he closed his eyes and concentrated. It took a couple of seconds, but eventually, Axle felt a headache coming on. It grew and grew larger until he felt a vision pierce through his brain.

* * *

 _The vision took place in the same room, only now empty and a little darker. Axle wasn't sure whether the darkness came from a sudden power loss or some other factor, but it was still much darker than he expected. It was hard to see much of the room because of how dark it was. The only notable thing for Axle was a small golden light he saw out of the corner of his vision. It was strange, but Axle couldn't look around in his vision, so he was stuck wondering what that light was._

 _Eventually, though, that light grew brighter and brighter. It eventually filled the entire room, blinding Axle for a few seconds. When Axle's eyes adjusted to the light, he was surprised at what he saw. Standing there in the room, looking around with amazement at their surroundings, was a sky form Shaymin. And if Axle had any guess, there were only two shaymin this could possibly be. Clover, or Skyla._

 _Though she was still in the corner of his vision, Axle examined the Sky Forme shaymin. He didn't notice the red headband that Shaymin gave back to Skyla, nor did the sky shaymin move with the purpose of someone looking for an object. She kept looking with a face of wonder, as if she was in a new place and checking it out. While Axle couldn't say for sure, he had his bet that the Pokémon in front of him was not Skyla._

 _As the shaymin got closer, Axle could see exactly what about her was causing so much light. She was wearing some sort of jewelry on her neck. The riolu couldn't exactly tell what type of jewelry it was, but he could at least see the design. The jewelry was flower shaped with 8 pedals of two different colors. Half of them were pink with golden seeds like a Gracidea Flower and the other half were gold like the sun. Though Axle couldn't actually feel anything within his visions, only see and hear, he could swear he felt warmer within the golden light surrounding the room. She also had two small green bags made from leaves on her side, the one of which Axle could see clearly clasped with a compass on it._

" _Wow, this place is amazing," the shaymin finally spoke after a while of exploring the room. "I knew humans were pretty good at building things, but to think they managed to make a purification plant this advanced that it still works and purifies water to this day. Not even shaymin could do something like this, nor would they really want to."_

 _The shaymin continued walking around until she reached the computer. She looked it over the computer for a few seconds with nostalgia in her eyes. Like a spell, she walked closer to the computer to the point where she was at the edge of Axle's vision. He could still hear her every word, though._

" _It's too bad they're no longer around. It's been how many years since…_ _ **that**_ _happened? Not sure, but it's been a long time. Now, their text is starting to no longer be used too. Wonder how long it'll be until humans just become some legend, or some sort of mythical creature? It's too bad, too. Some humans weren't that bad, despite what happened." The shaymin placed one paw on her jewel. "And there are a lot of things lost because of it."_

 _She shook her head before turning around to walk away. "Nah, no time to be so nostalgic. Got a lot more of the place to explore. Should get on it."_

 _The last thing Axle saw before the vision ended was the shaymin walking out of the room._

* * *

The next thing Axle knew, he was lying face-down on the floor in front of the computer. Axle quickly got up, using the keyboard to his right to help pull himself off the ground, but it was too late. As soon as he got onto his feet and got his bearings straight, he noticed Eon and Shaymin hovering over him, looking at him with concern in their eyes.

"Are you ok, Axle?" Eon asked.

"J-just a Dimensional Scream," Axle said. "I'm fi-"

Before Axle could finish that sentence he could feel another headache invade his mind. Axle placed a paw to his head, but that was all he could do. Before he could say anything, the riolu was pulled away from reality once again.

* * *

 _The vision was in the same location as the previous vision he saw. The room looked exactly the same, including the lighting, so Axle couldn't tell whether it was the exact same time or not. The only difference, and a slight once, was that Axle was facing more towards the computer instead this time. Aside from that, though, for all he knew, he could be experiencing the same vision over again. Especially since, as he saw, the same golden light came from the same place with, as he figured out after a couple of minutes, the same shaymin wearing the same piece of jewelry._

 _As the shaymin walked into the room, though, Axle immediately noticed a couple of differences. First, the shaymin walking in didn't look through the room with the same wonder as she did in his previous vision. She was instead more purposeful in her walk and made a beeline towards the computer. Axle also noticed bags underneath the grass/flying-type's half-closed eyes and even her walk was wearier than before. Finally, the bag on her left was gone and the bag on her right was now brown instead of the vibrant green it once was. Axle got the sense that something major happened in between his last vision and this one, but had no context to figure out what that was._

 _Axle watched as the shaymin walked up to the computer before using psychic on her right bag. She grabbed out what looked like a TM to Axle before placing it horizontally on a part of the wall next to the computer. Axle was confused why at first, but his confusion turned to surprise as the wall seemingly ate the TM that she placed in it. The shaymin turned around quickly and left, and that was all Axle saw before he returned to reality once again._

* * *

When Axle returned to reality again, he felt himself leaning against something, his entire face pressed into that something. That something happened to be quite furry and Axle had a good guess as to what his face was pressed against. And, as he moved his head back, he noticed that the fur he was pressed against was brown. Axle felt the heat flush to his face as he realized he fell face first against Eon.

"You back for sure this time?" Shaymin asked as Axle got up.

"I…think so," Axle said. He was embarrassed, and glad that Shaymin wasn't pressing him for accidently leaning against Eon.

"Are you sure you're ok, Axle?" Eon asked. "Your Dimensional Screams have been worse on you lately and this time you had two in a row. Are you really ok?"

"The pain passes quickly after I have the vision," Axle said, telling a half-truth. In truth, he was fighting to stand straight up and wanted to move his arm towards his head from how dizzy he felt. "I'm fine."

"And how long is 'quickly' exactly?" Eon asked, calling Axle's bluff.

"…" Axle sighed. "Fine. I'll sit down for now. But I have something to tell you guys."

Axle sat down and rested, his fatigue threatening to get the most of him. Still, he kept strong for the moment as his partners both walked in front of him, looking over him. Axle took a few deep breaths before he began spilling his vision to his two friends. As he talked, he felt his fatigue slowly pass him, so he was even able to stand up eventually while talking about his vision.

"So then Clover was here!" Shaymin said.

"That's what I assume anyways," Axle said. "Even though she constantly talked to herself, she never actually mentioned her name. But a shaymin looking around human ruins, plus the fact that she had some sort of treasure on her makes me pretty confident that…"

"She was Clover, yeah," Shaymin said. "But…a flower shaped jewel with pink and gold petals…honestly, I've never heard of something like that before. Or if I have, I forgot about it. We might have to ask the Elder back in Shaymin village about that."

"And you said the vision ended with her looking really ragged, right?" Eon asked. "What do you think happened to her?"

Axle shrugged. "I don't know. That's the odd thing. In the first vision, she was energetic, talkative, and looked full of life. During the second vision, though, she looked completely different. If it weren't for the fact that she had the same jewel and bag, I would have honestly thought it was a different shaymin. Technically, I have no proof it isn't aside from just a feeling I got."

"And you said she placed a TM somewhere in the wall?" Eon asked. She looked towards the direction Axle indicated, searching around for where the TM ended up in. "Let's see here…hmm, I think I found something."

Eon placed her paw on something and the TM, the same one from hundreds if not thousands of years ago, came from out of the wall. She placed the TM in her paws before moving it into her personal bag. With that done, she walked back to her teammates. There, she grabbed the TM back out and showed it to her teammates.

"…This was the item Clover left," Eon said. "This is a TM. It seems to be ancient and worn out, but it's definitely a TM. What's weird is…if I had any guess I'd say that this is a TM for Toxic. I'm not completely sure, since it's too old to use, but I'm pretty sure that this is Toxic."

"…Wait…I don't get it," Shaymin said. "A TM of Toxic. Are you saying…?"

"We don't know much about technology," Eon admitted. "We've been guessing as to the cause this entire time. First, something was jammed. Then the Poisonpoint Root. Finally, a TM for Toxic. I'm not really sure about this either but…"

"Perhaps, they're all right, in a way," Axle finished for her, picking up on her train of thought. "Maybe, upon Clover putting the Toxic TM in, the waters started becoming poisonous. Once they became poisonous enough, the Poisonpoint Root started growing, clogging the system up. Does that sound possible?"

"I don't know," Eon admitted. "But yeah, it's possible some combination of things happened. If we want to fix this place, though, we should probably revert it back to how it was before. We've already got the Toxic TM out, next we should clear out the Poisonpoint Root, and finally purify the waters."

"And finally, wait for Skyla to show up," Shaymin added. "Since if this is Clover's treasure, that means Skyla should be here to find it soon. Let's get working."


	14. Fight of Our Lives

While Shaymin used his psychic power to attempt and clear away the Poisonpoint Root, Axle and Eon did the only thing they were able to do at the moment. Examine the TM that Clover left to see what secrets it held. Axle held it in his arms and they both constantly turned it over to see what secrets the TM held.

"Hmm…ok I'm a little surer this is a TM for Toxic," Eon said. "Can't be positive, since it's too old to use, but it has the look of the TM of Toxic. You can tell by the design of the purple lines around the TM, even though they have faded a bit with time. But beyond that…I can't tell much else. There must be something, since this doesn't really count as a clue, but…"

"I wonder if it's the choice of TM," Axle mumbled. "Maybe even the fact that it's a TM is important, not the choice of TM. It is odd, though."

"You think?" Eon said. "You said Clover put it there purposefully. I wonder if she knew the consequences. And if she did…would that mean…?"

"That's just speculation, though," Axle cut her off. "We don't know enough about Clover, so we wouldn't know whether she had a motivation to sabotage this place or not. The feel of the TM is also something I've noticed is off-"

"Alright, done," Shaymin's voice eventually called out.

Axle and Eon looked to their left and right respectively to see their friend walking back towards them. The grass/flying-type looked a little fatigued from using Psychic constantly, and his tiredness from last night was particularly apparent within him. Still, he staggered on to Axle and Eon's side and looked at the two of them.

"The Poisonpoint is cleared now," Shaymin said in a tired voice. "They weren't difficult to manipulate, actually they were kinda weak to Psychic like a poison-type would be, but there was sure a lot of them. But, after I got rid of a lot of them, the machine made this weird sound and suddenly the rest of the roots were blown away by some current. I think they're all gone now."

"That's good to hear," Eon said. "With any luck, this place can naturally filter the water and clean it up. At any case, we can check it out later to make sure it's working."

"For now though, we wait here for Skyla and/or her teammates," Axle said.

And, it was as if fate was listening to Axle's words, because as soon as they left his lips the trio heard a noise from the way they came. Axle, Eon, and Shaymin all looked over in the direction the noise was coming from. Axle himself closed his eyes and felt out in that direction with his aura to see who was coming. It didn't take him long before his eyes snapped open in recognition of their auras.

"It's them," Axle whispered to his friends. "Skyla, Simisage, and Gogoat."

Just as he was saying that, another voice came. "Oh great, looks like we were beaten here," Simisage's voice called out from the darkness. Eventually, the trio walked into the light, where Axle, Eon, and Shaymin were able to see them. The two trios stared at each other for a couple seconds when they encountered each other.

"Oh great, it's you three again," Simisage said. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you didn't want the treasure."

"Guess," Axle said.

"They're here for the same reason they attacked you in the first place," Skyla growled. "Think about it for five second before you open your mouth."

Axle took a step forwards. "Yes, we're here for the shaymin kids you three kidnapped," Axle said. "But we've got another objective." Axle looked over his shoulder. "Shaymin?"

Shaymin walked over to Axle's side and looked at Skyla. "Please Skyla, I need to know," he begged. "Why did you kidnap those kids? Why are you looking for Clover's treasure? I know you Skyla! I know you must have a reason for doing this! So please…tell me! Please!"

Axle stepped a bit farther ahead, holding out the Toxic TM Clover left behind. "This is what you're looking for, I'm sure," Axle said. "This is what Clover left. Like Simisage said, we're not really interested in Clover's Treasure. This TM is pretty much useless to us. But it's useful to you. So I offer a trade. Tell us why you want Clover's Treasure. The truth about it too. I'll know if you lie."

"Also, we know where the final key to Clover's Treasure is!" Eon suddenly chimed in, running up to Axle's side. "So we've got another trade for you. We'll tell you where the last key is, while you tell us where you're keeping the shaymin kids!"

"We already know," Simisage said. "We would have gotten it already too if it wasn't for the police there. Sorry, you're gonna need something better than that."

Eon's ears flopped and she took a step back out of embarrassment. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I just…"

"Well, Skyla?" Axle asked. "Do we have a deal?"

"Please Skyla!" Shaymin begged.

Skyla looked between Axle and Shaymin, and while she was doing that, Axle examined her face. Sklya had the same emotionless frown on her face that she had since she revealed her true nature. But Axle couldn't help but sense something off about her. He couldn't exactly figure out what was off about her, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Rainflower, will you stop pretending I'm your sweet childhood crush," Skyla said harshly, looking away as she said it. "I told you before, hundreds of years passed since those days. We've changed. Get used to it and stop looking at me with those baby-doll eyes."

"But Skyla!" Shaymin called.

Skyla shook her head. "You said everyone thought I was dead that year? Well, keep it that way. As far as it matters, the Skyla you knew died that day."

"So I assume you're not going to tell us anything," Axle said.

"Tell you what?" Simisage asked. "Isn't it obvious why we're looking for treasure? For money of course! Imagine how rich we can get from such a rare and valuable treasure! We'll be living the good life, and all we needed to do was kidnap a bunch of kids!"

"And is that what you think, Skyla?!" Eon asked.

Skyla continued looking away. "What does it matter?" she asked.

"Let's end this farce," Gogoat chimed in quickly before going silent again.

Skyla nodded. "He's right. We know you're not actually going to give it to us. So we're just going to have to take it by force."

Axle placed the TM back in his bag before clenching his paws and getting in a fighting stance. "Figured things would go this way," Axle said. "Eon, Shaymin, we're back to plan A. Time to finally catch the outlaws!"

Eon sighed before running towards Axle's side. "Sorry Shaymin," she whispered, mostly to herself. Eon quickly crouched, getting ready to fight at Axle's side.

Before the fight began, Axle took a quick look at Shaymin. The grass/flying-type was looking to the ground with a shell-shocked look and didn't seem to be aware of what was happening around him. Axle felt sorry for the Gratitude-Pokémon too, but as of right now, he had other things to focus on.

 _I was worried about this but…it looks like we're going to have to fight without Shaymin,_ Axle thought. _This won't be easy._

Axle clasped his arms together and began drawing energy to between his hands. "Eon…sneak attack Shadow Ball at Skyla on my signal," Axle whispered. "We'll attack at the same time and hopefully lower her defenses. Make her easier to take out."

"Alright," Eon whispered back.

Axle continued charging power to his Focus Blast attack a bit longer until he felt it was strong enough. _Focus Axle, focus,_ Axle thought. _I need to concentrate my power on my attack…while still keeping an eye on my opponents. I can do this…_

"Alright, now!" Axle announced before thrusting the yellow sphere of energy forward in the direction of Skyla. Eon also shot her Shadow Ball suddenly, and the two balls of energy went flying towards Skyla.

Simisage and Gogoat both blocked the twin attacks with their own moves, Simisage using Seed Bomb and Gogoat using Leaf Blade the counter. The two attacks exploded in a puff of smoke, giving Axle and Eon an opportunity. The partners ran forward, Axle at Simisage, Eon at Gogoat, and they both attacked through the smoke, Axle using Drain Punch and Eon using Return. Both their attacks hit and managed to stagger back the two outlaws and blow away the smoke.

 _First strike,_ Axle thought, though then his eyes happened to glance upon Eon, seeing that she was in slight pain from exerting pressure on her legs from that attack. _Eon, be careful. I can't afford to fight and carry you at the same time in this battle._

Simisage came after Axle with his claws slashing around in a frenzied Fury Swipes. Axle back-stepped quickly to get away from the initial attack while wreathing his paws in darkness. Once that was done, Axle struck back with his own frenzied Shadow Claw. The two slashed at each other, claws clashing until, at the same time, they both made contact with one slash on each other. They both took a step back after that contact, Axle clutching his left arm while Simisage clutched his chest.

Axle recovered a bit faster than Simisage and got ready to launch another attack. He had his aura already pulsing in his right paw as he rushed forward, left paw outstretched ready for the attack. But before he was able to even place his paw on Simisage to begin the Force Palm attack, he was suddenly knocked into the air by a powerful attack. A second later, Axle saw Gogoat as the culprit of the attack, his horns glowing white. While Axle was floating helplessly in the air, both of the outlaws launched a dual Seed Bomb attack straight at him, sending him flying back against a wall. Axle impacted the wall hard on his back, crying out as he did so, before falling down and slamming the ground on his front.

Axle's whole body was wrapped in pain after the fall and he had some difficulty getting up. Still, Axle knew he couldn't just lie there, so he fought against his urges and tried pushing himself up. No matter how hard he tried, though, his arms weren't strong enough at the moment to carry him up.

"Axle!" the riolu heard Eon yell, and he quickly felt a paw on his shoulder.

"I'm…fine," Axle managed to grunt out.

"You don't look fine," Eon said. Axle eventually felt something round press against his mouth. Axle knew immediately knew it was an Oran Berry from the texture and quickly opened his mouth to consume it. The sweet juices filled his mouth as he ate the berry and he slowly felt energy flow through his body.

"T-thanks Eon," Axle said as he managed to get back up.

"These guys are a lot tougher than last time," Eon said. "I was barely able to dodge his attacks without hurting myself and he managed to dodge my attacks rather well. I needed a berry myself."

"It's less they're stronger and more…" Axle's eye glanced in the direction of his friend, who was still in his original position as if nothing had happened at all. "And Skyla hasn't even done anything yet. This isn't going to be easy."

"What are we going to do, Axle?" Eon asked.

Axle closed his eyes and thought for a few seconds. "We need to keep fighting," Axle said, eyes opened up. "We can't give up. …I was worried something like this might happen, so I have a plan."

"A…plan?" Eon asked.

Axle looked towards the outlaws, specifically at Gogoat. He held his paw out in something resembling a fist and ran at him at full speed. While doing so, Axle tried to control his aura within his right hand.

 _Alright, cool your aura in your hand,_ Axle thought. _It'll be cold at first, but it should allow me to expel that icy aura to my opponent. If I'm right, that will allow me to use Ice Punch. I guess it's trial by fire time._

So Axle tried to do so, cooling his aura in his right arm as best as he could. As he ran forward, he tried cooling his aura and he even felt the cold seep into his muscles and bones. The riolu even closed his eyes to help cool his aura. Axle was just seconds away from punching when he spread his aura all around his fist and thrust his paw in the direction. Finally, he felt his paw impact against Gogoat.

Axle opened his eyes back up to see that Gogoat…had a little bit of frost on him and looked annoyed, but not in pain. The grass-type responded with a strong Aerial Ace to knock Axle back a distance. Axle was able to stop himself from going too far, but he felt the pain in his chest from where the attack impacted. Gogoat huffed when Axle got back up.

"That attack was cold, but weak," Gogoat said. "Try again."

Axle growled, but knew he was beat.

"Heh, this is too easy," Simisage said with a laugh. "Looks like without your little puppy, you two are really weak. It's too bad, I was hoping for a challenge."

 _D-dang it, I can't use that,_ Axle thought. _I'm…still not proficient enough. Now what do I do? With Eon's legs preventing her from using too many physical moves…I'd have to take on both of them at the same time to give Eon the space to use her special moves. But…they could easily ignore me, or overwhelm me, and then…plus Skyla's been silent as well and once she starts fighting…what do we do?!_

"Let's just get this over with," Gogoat said.

Gogoat rushed at Axle, his horns glowing with another Aerial Ace coming at the fighting-type. Axle decided to stand his ground and hold his arms out, ready to grab Gogoat's horns. It was a risk, but Axle knew that it was his only chance. Axle closed his eyes and prepared for the impact, for the do or die situation, where he either manages to stop the charging bull or is taken out himself. The riolu didn't feel he could, but he knew he had no choice.

"It's not over yet, Axle!"

Axle opened his eyes up at the sound of the voice when he saw Eon fly up into Gogoat's face, knocking the grass-type backwards from the pain of the impact. From her spot in the air, Eon twirled and fired down a Hidden Power onto Gogoat. Those attacks completely canceled out the Mount-Pokémon's attack, sparing Axle. Eon landed and, despite the pain clear on her face, she still stood strong.

"Remember what I said, Axle?" Eon asked. "My paws aren't going to be a hindrance to you. I won't let them be. So don't let them be either. Let's fight like we always have."

"But…" Axle started, but Eon shook her head.

"Let's do this," Eon said with a nod. "I'm not worried, so you shouldn't be either."

Axle closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine," Axle said softly to his friend. "Then let's do this. We'll take out Gogoat and Simisage first so that we can tag team Skyla. Focus on Gogoat while he's still staggered."

Eon smiled. "Got it!" she said with a nod.

Axle rushed forward with all the momentum he could, striking Gogoat with a strong Drain Punch attack, healing himself in the process. He then danced back, allowing Eon to rush up from behind him, hitting Gogoat with a Quick Attack. Axle followed up by placing his left paw on Gogoat and striking his right paw with a Force Palm. Axle and Eon both took a step back, getting ready for either Gogoat or Simisage to counterattack. However, Simisage was surprised and awestruck at Axle and Eon's onslaught of attacks and Gogoat, while glaring at Axle and Eon, his limbs weren't moving right and seemed to be slowed down.

"Eon, he's…" Axle said.

"Paralyzed," Eon finished for him.

"Good, one last attack should do it," Axle said while moving his paws into fists. "Let's do this, Eon! Let's throw him in the air."

"Right," Eon responded.

Eon dug underground and, while she was digging underneath Gogoat, Axle flew over towards Gogoat, hitting him under his chin to stagger him. After that hit, Eon managed to hit Gogoat into the air with her Dig attack. With Gogoat in the air, Axle and Eon both launched a duel Shadow Ball and Focus Blast respectively, both attacks exploding when they hit Gogoat in the air. After a couple of seconds, Gogoat fell from the smoke, knocked out.

"Alright, one down finally!" Eon said cheerfully. "All we need to do now is…"

Eon wasn't able to finish that sentence, though, as an explosion nearly hit her on her right side. Axle and Eon looked at the explosion and then looked towards where the explosion came from. There they saw Skyla walking towards them with a clearly annoyed look on her face. All it took was that look for Axle to figure out that the explosion came from one of her Energy Balls.

"Bout time you finally helped!" Simisage yelled as Skyla walked up to his side.

"I figured you two could survive on your own," Skyla grunted. "I was apparently wrong. I guess that's what I get for overestimating you."

"Well…well!" Simisage tried to counter, but he couldn't think of a good counter.

"Now back off already and let me take care of these two," Skyla said. "You're not needed."

Simisage groaned before backing up as Skyla ordered. That left the Sky-Forme shaymin to walk closer up to Axle and Eon, looking at them with contempt as she walked. She stopped about a yard away from the two.

"Alright you two, you think your tough huh?" Skyla asked. "But you're up against a Mythical Pokémon now. And if you couldn't handle those two, there's no way you can possibly beat me."

And just to prove it, she jumped into the air before sending two Air Slashes in Axle and Eon's direction. Axle dodged to his left and Eon to her right and, while they were able to avoid the brunt of the attack, the swirling air around it pushed them both farther then they had anticipated and caused them both to slide across the ground. Axle was still able to get up easily from the attack, but Eon was still lying on the ground. And that's where Skyla turned her attention to.

"I suppose since you knocked out Gogoat it's only fair if I knock out you," Skyla said. "So let's get this over with already."

Before Skyla was able to get off her attack, though, Axle jumped up to her level slashed at her with his Shadow Claws. The attack pushed Skyla back and staggered her for a bit. This gave Eon enough time to get up off the ground and allow Axle to walk to her side.

"Heh, thanks Axle," Eon said.

"Are you feeling ok?" Axle whispered to her.

"Honestly…not really," Eon admitted. "My limbs really hurt right now. It's getting hard to move and I don't think Oran Berries will help anymore."

"Fine, then I guess we're going to have to finish this as fast as possible," Axle said. "Let's split up. I'll try to keep her attention to keep you from straining yourself. You stay here and pepper her with long ranged attacks."

"I'll try," Eon said. "Stay safe, though. She's not going to be easy facing head on."

"Don't I know it," Axle grunted.

Axle ran forward and slashed at Skyla once again before landing on the opposite side of where Eon is. His diversion strategy worked, as when Skyla got her bearings again, she focused on Axle instead of Eon. She also shot an Energy Ball in his direction, which Axle managed to dodge by jumping backwards.

Axle brought his paws together and shot a Focus Blast at Skyla. The attack was a bit off the mark, though, and Skyla was easily able to fly out of the way. Before she was able to counterattack, Eon managed to hit her with a Swift from behind. This slightly got Skyla's attention, but Axle quickly hit her with a Bullet Punch to get her attention back down to him. This slightly failed, since Skyla kept her eye on both Axle and Eon.

"Oh, let me guess, you're going to attack me apart from each other," Skyla said in a bored voice. "Am I close?"

"…You're point?" Axle asked. "You're the one who decided to fight us alone. You have no one to blame but yourself for this."

Skyla sighed. "Why do you keep fighting?" she asked. "You're just shortening your already short lives. Just look at your friend, riolu. She was in a lot of pain when we last left and she clearly hasn't recovered now. Are you willing to let her die?"

"Eon promised me she'll be fine," Axle said, "and I have…to trust her on that."

"Place your trust on something temporary and you'll always get yourself crushed," Skyla said. "But I suppose it doesn't matter to you. After all, you're just as temporary. And I'll show you just how temporary both of you are."

Skyla quickly descended to the ground, where she poured a bunch of energy into. When she did, the ground around her cracked and the cracked area expanded further and further until it reached Axle and Eon. Once it reached those two, the ground exploded and energy, in the form of fire, came bursting out on Axle and Eon. The sheer strength from the Earth Power attack sent Axle and Eon flying from their positions before slamming back into the ground.

"H-how?" Axle grunted as he tried to get up.

"S-shaymin can't learn Earth Power," Eon said from her position on the ground. "Can they?"

"Clearly not," Skyla said sarcastically. "We can't learn it naturally and there's no TM for it, but there are other ways to learn moves. As I'm sure your friend's weak attempt at an Ice Punch shows. But that's beside the point." Skyla turned her attention to Axle. "Give me the TM you have, now. You're beat and I don't feel like wasting anymore energy on you. Don't throw away your already limited life."

"W-what do we do?" Eon asked. "I…we…can't win…"

Axle continued getting up and eventually made it to his feet. However, he could still feel an extreme pain and clutched his left arm with his right because of it. Still, he gave Skyla a defiant look.

"You're really indecisive," Axle snarked. "First you're going to kill us, then not, then you are, now you aren't. Mind being a bit less indecisive?"

Skyla immediately closed the gap in between her and Axle. When she got up to him, she gave him the largest death glare she could. Axle answered her gaze with his own stoic look, not letting the Mythical Pokémon intimidate him.

"You want me to be less indecisive?" Skyla asked. She lifted her forepaws. "Fine. Let's see how you feel about that after two Air Slashes to the chest. Maybe then you'll comply. So long as I'm not taking that TM from your corpse."

"A-Axle, just give it to her!" Axle heard Eon yell, his heart falling as he heard the desperation and fear in her voice. He looked past Skyla to see Eon, still lying on the floor, but with her head up and facing him, tear filled despair in her eyes. "T-this isn't worth it!"

"Might want to listen to your girlfriend," Skyla taunted. "There's nothing you can do. Make any movements aside from getting that TM out and I'll attack. You've lost. Why bother struggling anymore? This doesn't involve you anyways!"

"Axle…please quit fighting!" Eon pleaded. "I don't want to lose you again!"

Axle flinched as he heard those words. _Eon…have you really given up?_ Axle thought. _After you were so strong this entire fight…is this really the end. But…if I was in the same situation…I'd be begging too. Dang it…no. I failed._

Axle slowly reached his left hand into his bag, opening the flap as he did so. Axle first felt around for any items that might help his situation, but aside from a couple Oran Berries which he couldn't eat with Skyla immediately attacking anyways, he had nothing in there to help. He knew then that his options were coming to an end.

"I…fine…you…" Axle grunted out slowly, unable to convince himself to say it.

Before he finished, however, a bright light suddenly enveloped his vision and he felt large amounts of energy blast against him. That was all Axle knew before he lost consciousness.


	15. Memories of Love in the Midst of Sadness

" _Come on, just a bit more!" Shaymin heard his friend calling him, her voice the only guiding light from him as he had his eyes closed while climbing the steep side of Sky Peak, close to it's top._

" _I…can't…" Shaymin panted, his tiny limbs aching and energy drained away from him._

" _What'd I say about can and can't?" his friend asked. "You're almost there! Just keep climbing and you'll reach the top!_

"' _But it's so…steep and so…cold," Shaymin groaned. "How in the world do you manage to do this constantly?"_

" _It's called practice," his friend responded. "Now come on! You're nearly at the top! No point in going back now! Just a couple more steps and you can make it! Heck, you should finally reach grass soon! Keep walking!"_

 _Shaymin gave out a grunt of frustration, but he listened to his friend's words. So, pulling the last bit of strength left in his reserves, Shaymin continued to trudge on. One step…two steps…forward…forward…until his paws did indeed reach past the snow and onto what felt to be a grassier part. The mountain was still as steep as it had been previously, but now Shaymin wasn't trudging through the cold, so he felt himself able to walk a bit faster. His steps became quicker and he knew he was getting close._

" _Alright, you did it!" his friend cheered. "Now, open your eyes and take a look at this!"_

 _Shaymin did, and what he saw amazed him. He reached the peak of Sky Peak and what he saw was a grassy paradise filled with Gracedia flowers. There was a slight wind blowing, so the petals of the Gracedia blew around in the wind, filling the sky with pink petals. Beyond that, he could see the peaks of other mountains off in the distance beyond him with the clouds a couple of meters below. Looking up, he could also see the stars in the sky despite it being still in the middle of the day. All in all, Shaymin marveled at the sight before him._

" _Heh, told ya it would be worth it," his friend said from his right side. Shaymin looked towards her, seeing that she was looking with wonder over the sights as well. "Doesn't matter how many times I come up here, the place still looks really amazing. Makes the difficult climb to get up here all the more worth it, right?"_

 _Shaymin looked silently over the scenery in front of him for a couple of minutes before answering. "Y-yeah, it really does," he said. "It really does. This place looks fantastic!"_

 _He could feel his hear bounce with excitement and the pain from his aching limbs felt like it disappeared. He also felt a new sudden burst of energy as he ran around the peak, taking in all the sights he could. The grass-type was amazed at everything he saw, and took in all the details he could._

" _Heh, glad to see someone's having a good time," his friend chuckled as she watched him. "You can thank me later."_

 _Shaymin looked at her and shook his head. "No, I'll thank you now. Thank you, thank you so much for pushing me to come up here! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"_

 _His friend laughed. "You're welcome," she said. "Happy to help!"_

 _Shaymin continued looking over the scenery, taking it all in, before his eyes eventually grazed on his friend again. His friend, in her Sky Forme as usually, happened to get caught in a bit of a swirl of wind causing the petals to spiral around her. Still, she looked over that with a smile on her face and the same sense of adventure and wonderment in her eyes. The lighting also made her coat shine a bit more than usual, as if she was another light glowing on the hill When Shaymin saw that, he quickly turned away, his face flush with emotions he's felt a couple times before when hanging out with his friend. Still, he couldn't help himself, so he snuck another peak. This one, however, his friend saw._

" _What, is there something on my face?" she asked._

" _N-no, it's just…" Shaymin looked away for a second. "You know; I really have a lot to thank you for. You got me to start learning how to fly, climb Sky Peak, and I finally have someone to talk to. Since you came into my life, it's been amazing. I'm so glad I got to meet you."_

" _Heh, same here," his friend said. "You might be really shy and timid, but you can get really passionate when you want to and I figure you can do anything if you set your mind to it. With so many shaymin content to just stick with their same routine over and over again, it's nice to see someone who's willing to go out of their way to try new things."_

 _Shaymin took a step back and blushed. "T-thanks," he said. "A-anyways…I want to ask you a question."_

" _Go ahead," his friend said cheerfully. "Ask away!"_

" _Well…I was wondering…" Shaymin faced away, having difficulty asking what he wanted to. "I mean…can I…give you a nickname?"_

" _Give me a nickname?" his friend asked as she examined Shaymin's face. She eventually figured out the implications of why Shaymin asked that, though, and smiled once again. "Sure! Go ahead, shoot! What'cha got?"_

 _Shaymin paused for a second, his heart beating a million miles per hour. "Skyla," he eventually stammered out. "It's a human name I read about in a book once. Apparently it once belonged to a human who could fly without any Flying-type Pokémon. And it's a…really beautiful name so I thought…"_

" _Skyla, huh?" his friend mused. She thought about it for a couple of seconds, those seconds feeling like hours to Shaymin, before she smiled and nodded. "That sounds kinda cool actually. 'Skyla.' Sounds like the perfect name for a master of the skies. Alright, Skyla it is! From this day forth, I'm gonna be known as Skyla! I'll make sure everyone in the village knows that too!"_

 _Shaymin breathed out a sigh of relief and he felt an incredible weight lift from him. "Thanks, Skyla. I'm glad you like it!"_

" _Getting used to it already, huh?" Skyla asked. "Well good for you! But what about you?"_

 _Shaymin looked at Skyla confused. "What about me?" he asked. "What do you mean?"_

" _What, you think I'm gonna walk around with a shiny new name and leave you in the dust?" Skyla asked. "I don't think so! Give me a couple seconds and I'll think up one for you."_

 _Shaymin took a step back, nearly hitting a rocky wall behind him. His mouth hung open, not expecting Skyla to return the favor to him. Still, the Sky Shaymin walked around while thinking, her mouth flapping as she tried thinking of something to call her friend._

" _Hmm…I think I've got it," Skyla said, her face lighting up. "I've got the perfect name for you!"_

" _O-oh," Shaymin said with a blush. "What is it?"_

" _Rainflower," Skyla answered. "You see, here's the thing. Rain is kinda something not too many Pokémon like. Most are stuck inside all day, it looks really gloomy outside, and it's not really that fun. But after the rain passes, the world feels so fresh afterwards, you know what I mean? You're kinda the same way. You had to go through some real tough times to get to where you are today. But seeing you here today, you can't tell me you don't feel amazing. So that's why I thought of 'Rainflower.' As a reminder that, no matter how tough it is, no matter how hard the rain is gonna fall, you can always remember that things will get better. Eventually the rain will stop and the world will feel fresher for it."_

" _Oh…really?" Shaymin asked. "But then why 'Rainflower' and not just 'Rain.'"_

 _Skyla smirked before walking close to Shaymin, ignoring any semblance of personal space. Shaymin squirmed back at their proximity, but the wall behind him prevented him from going too far. So he was stuck with Skyla close in front of him, close enough that their snouts were almost touching._

" _I've got another reason for that, actually," Skyla said, chuckling as she did so. "One of the books I read on human culture mentioned how they would put symbolism to certain plants. Not sure how credible the book is, but I'll go with it. Anyways, on the section of 'Rainflower' it mentioned one thing the plant meant to humans." She got up to his ear and whispered in it, "'I love you back.'"_

" _Wha-wha-wha-what?!" Shaymin asked to a laughing Skyla._

 _Skyla quickly turned around and gave Shaymin some space. "So, what do you think?" she asked, facing him from her previous position._

" _I…do you really…?" he asked, having trouble forming the words._

" _Yeah, I do think that's a good name for you," Skyla answered. "Why would I pick it otherwise?"_

 _Shaymin opened his mouth to properly ask the question he wanted, but closed it soon after when he realized Skyla wasn't going to answer his question. So instead he mused about the name Skyla gave him. However, it didn't take much thought, and Shaymin quickly smiled and nodded towards his friend._

" _Alright, Rainflower it is," he said. "I guess from now on I'll just have to make sure everyone calls me by that name."_

" _Pfft, you actually having people remember that?" Skyla asked. "That's a laugh. Don't worry, I'll make sure everyone remembers that."_

" _Oh come on!" Rainflower said, taking a step forward out of defiance. "I'm not the shamyin I once was! I'm sure I can convince someone to call me 'Rainflower.' …Maybe one or two shaymin in the village."_

" _Congratulations," Skyla said semi-mockingly. "You convinced me to call you Rainflower. Mission accomplished!"_

" _That's not what I mean!" Rainflower announced. "Besides, you don't count! You're the one who gave me that name in the first place!"_

" _Hey, take victories where you can get them," Skyla said. "But hey, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. You might convince one or two Pokémon. Maybe."_

" _Hey, better than you forcing them to remember my name, like you'll do with yours," Rainflower countered._

" _Oh really?" Skyla asked. "I see where I'm at, then."_

 _The two smiled at each other before they fell to the ground, laughing the day away. After an indiscriminate period of time, the two got back up and dusted themselves off. They once again looked at each other with smiles on their faces._

" _Still, this day was amazing," Rainflower said to break the silence. "Thanks once again."_

" _Heh, you made this day pretty great too, Rainflower," Skyla said. "Don't sell yourself short. Heck, don't sell the day short either. We haven't reached the best part, yet?"_

" _The…best…part?" Rainflower asked. "What do you mean by…"_

" _Guess," Skyla said with a wink. "Shouldn't be too hard for you to figure that out."_

 _Rainflower realized exactly what she was planning, and his mouth immediately opened to protest. "B-but are you sure I'm ready?" he asked. "It's so early and I…"_

" _Of course you're ready!" Skyla announced with a bounce. "I sure as heck am! I can't wait to see what you do!"_

" _Flounder and fall?" Rainflower asked. "Seriously, you want me to fly off of Sky Peak, this really high mountain where there's a long way down, when I still haven't gotten used to flying yet?"_

" _I'll catch you if you fall," Skyla promised. "But I really think you can do this, now. Come on, at least try it."_

 _Rainflower sighed, but closed his eyes regardless and felt the pollen from the Gracedia petals around him. A bright light surrounded him and he eventually changed form into his Sky Forme. The shaymin tried to give Skyla his best grin of confidence when he did so, but it was so forced that Skyla noticed immediately._

" _It'll be alright, Rainflower," Skyla promised. "Remember, no matter how bad things get, the sun will come out and the world will feel fresh afterwards."_

Shaymin, still in his Sky Forme, looked over the same view on the same peak he remembered so long ago. The wind was blowing just the same as it did back then and the view changed very little. Despite all that, though, he didn't have the same excitement or energy as he did that day, all those years ago. The day him and Skyla became a couple. The day he gained his new name.

"'No matter how bad things get, the sun will come out and the world will feel fresh afterwards,'" Shaymin quoted to himself.


	16. Rainfall

Consciousness slowly returned back to Axle, and while it took a couple of seconds for him to remember what situation he was in, once he realized that Axle immediately sat up and took a good look at his surroundings. He was in a hut made of sticks and leaves sitting on a straw bed, with grass on the floor instead of flooring. He also noticed that, in a straw bed to his right, Eon was lying down, still asleep. Their bags were sat to the side of the hut, lying against the wall.

"Wha…what happened?" Axle asked as he looked around. "Where am I?"

"Oh, looks like someone's finally awake," a Pokémon outside of the tent said. A couple of seconds later said Pokémon, a Land Forme Shaymin, walked into the tent.

"Who are you?" Axle asked. "What's going on?"

"My name is Iris," the shaymin said. "I'm the doctor for Shaymin Village. And you're Axle, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right," Axle said.

"Alright good. I don't know your exact situation, but your shaymin teammate brought you here," Iris explained. "He said that you guys needed a lot of healing and boy was he right. I don't know what happened, but you guys were a mess." The shaymin nodded towards Eon. "Especially her. The muscles in her paws still haven't recovered from 'that event,' have they?"

"You…know about that?" Axle asked.

"I was at Treasure Town treating Shaymin that day," Iris said. "Anyways, back to my question."

"No…not really," Axle admitted as he looked over her.

"Yeah, they were swelling up horribly," Iris admitted. "Luckily, I managed to get everything under control and she should be able to move normally really soon."

"Normally as in…?" Axle asked.

"Normally as in have her still be very careful of straining herself too much," Iris answered. "Sorry Axle. She's honestly lucky she's still able to walk right now."

Axle looked down at Eon. _So…they were that bad. She must've been in so much pain when she was lying on the ground. And to feel like that while watching me…_

A hatred began welling up in Axle's heart. A furiousness he'd rarely felt before. He was so angry that his paws clenched into fits instinctively and it took all the self-control he had not to act on his anger. As much as Axle didn't want to for Shaymin's sake, he had to admit something.

For what she did to him and to his partner, Axle hated Skyla.

 _Shaymin, I'm sorry, but enough is enough,_ Axle thought. _And if you won't help us take out Skyla then…_

Before he could finish that thought, Eon started moving. A few seconds later, her eyes opened and she looked up. The first thing she saw was Axle staring down at her with his paws clenched. She chuckled as it did not take her too long to figure out the context of that action.

"Heh…we sure got beat, didn't we?" she asked.

"I suppose you could call it that," Axle answered.

Eon shifted and tried to get back up. "Hey Axle…please don't hate Shaymin," Eon pleaded. "In a way…I understand how difficult this must be for him. It must be hard to see the one you loved, after being separated for so long, act like this. How much you just want them to talk to you so you can figure out what happened. How much you long to have that relationship again. I wish Skyla just tell him what's wrong."

"I…can attempt to understand that, but at this point? After all she's done? I honestly don't care what her reasoning is anymore," Axle admitted. "She's kidnapped three kids and tried to kill us twice, nearly killing us once. And your paws were in even worse shape than before. So I'm sorry if I'm less than sympathetic for her."

"I can understand that just…don't be too hard on Shaymin," Eon said.

"I…make no promises, but I'll try not to," Axle said, his paws finally unclenching.

"So where is Shaymin anyways?" Eon asked. "And how'd we get to Shaymin Village?"

"Shaymin apparently brought us here," Axle answered. "I don't know how, when, or why either. The last thing I remember was a burst of energy and then I just…fainted."

Eon opened her eyes wide and realized something. "Axle, the TM!" she announced. "Is it still in your bag?!"

Axle's eyes widened when he too realized this. He quickly ran over to his blue bag and opened it. After rummaging through his items for a while, he eventually grabbed something and pulled it out. After doing so, he flashed it to Eon so she could see as well. They still had the ancient TM for Toxic, the one that Clover left in the purification plant.

"Oh, so Skyla didn't manage to steal that from us, then," Eon said with relief in her tone. "That's good. Still…I wonder what happened then. Maybe Shaymin knows?"

"Hey, I'm back!" Iris announced. Axle and Eon turned their attention to her to see the Land shaymin walking in while levitating an extremely large bucket, one almost her size, using Psychic.

"Oh sorry, I didn't even notice you were gone," Axle said.

"Yeah, I left when I saw Eon wake up," Iris said while still walking towards Eon. "Didn't really make much of a fuss when I left so…"

Iris eventually reached Eon and placed the bucket down in front of her. Inside of the bucket there was this strange blue liquid that Eon looked at with suspicion when she laid eyes on it. Iris either didn't notice or ignored Eon's reaction, as she continued on regardless.

"Alright Eon, I need you to hop into this bucket," Iris said nonchalantly.

"Uhh…why?" Eon asked. "Am I supposed to bathe in this or something?"

"Exactly," Iris said without pause. "This mixture is filled with a bunch of herbs and berries found on Sky Peak. We use it to heal most ailments involving muscles. It's not actually common for a shaymin to need it, but luckily we still have books in our medical library about it just in case some traveler needs it. This place was once, and has even sort of became once again, a tourist attraction with the main focus being climbing that mountain."

"Alright, I get it," Eon said. "Thanks." She was about to hop in, but realization struck her. "Wait…does that mean you've been constantly bathing my unconscious body?"

"It was either that or you don't walk again," Iris said. "So take your pick."

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate anything, I just…" Eon closed her mouth and her eyes before she dug herself any deeper. "Thank you for helping me," she said after a deep breath. "I am glad for your assistance."

"If you say so," Iris commented with a roll of her eyes.

Without saying another word Eon hopped into the bucket of herb and berry mix. When she did she immediately shivered and looked disgusted once again. Axle could even tell with one glance of her aura that she had to use every ounce of self-control to keep herself from jumping out of that bucket.

"It's…so…slimy," Eon moaned under her breath.

"So I've been told," Iris said. "Be sure to rinse yourself off in the spring to the back of this hut after you're done."

"Urrg," Eon groaned.

Iris turned around to leave, but before she did so, Axle called out to her. "Hey Iris, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" Axle asked.

Iris turned back to him. "Sure, I'm up for it," she said. "Got nothing better to do anyways. What do you need?"

"Has the elder managed to postpone the Flower Festival?" Axle asked.

"For now, yeah," Iris said. "But he can't hold off on it for forever. We need to do it soon while we still have the instinct in us. And well…we know who's missing. So we really have no reason to postpone it other than a worry about their safety. So if you're not quick we're just gonna have to go without them."

Iris turned away and mumbled to herself, probably to prevent Axle from hearing her, but he could make it out anyways. "It's too bad, too. Fiora was hoping to go on it for the first time since she came into this world."

"Alright, we'll try and get them back as fast as possible," Axle promised. "My second question. Where's Shaymin right now?"

"He said he was going to climb Sky Peak to clear his head," Iris said. "If I had my guess, he's probably still there."

"Got it. Thanks," Axle said. "We'll go after him when we recover over here."

* * *

As Axle said, once he and Eon were feeling better they both walked over to Sky Peak, using Drifblim's services to help them get up Sky Peak as fast as possible. To waste no time, they left in the late-afternoon, early evening hours, knowing that they would hit nightfall before they made it to the top. So the two camped out on Sky Peak overnight and continued on at the first light of day.

The duo eventually made it to the top still in the crisp of morning when they finally found their teammate. Shaymin was sitting at the edge of the easy side of the cliff, watching the sun rise in front of him. When Axle and Eon saw him, they wanted to approached him, but didn't know what to say. So, after looking at each other and agreeing without saying a word, they both walked to either side of the Grass-Type and sat down with him, watching the morning sun rise together. The trio continued like that for a while until Shaymin finally spoke.

"Hi Axle…hi Eon," he said, closing his eyes as he did so.

"Hey Shaymin," Eon answered. "How's…it going."

"…Not really sure," Shaymin said. There was a long pause of silence before he spoke again. "You know, it's kinda funny. I thought I had no hope of ever seeing Skyla again. I thought, with how long it had been since I saw her, that she was gone. I thought that's what I truly believed. But…if I'm being honest, a part of me always hoped I'd see her again. That we'd be able to chat again like we used to. That I had the love of my life back in my life once again. It was a lost and forlorn hope, but I still held on to it nevertheless."

"I understand what you mean," Eon said.

Shaymin just shook his head. "I wonder…I wonder if a part of me even joined your team just out of hope I might see Skyla again. Just to hear if there was any information about her. After all, if anybody could give me some hope that I could see Skyla again, then it'd be a duo determined to explore the entire world. Maybe they could give me some hope again."

"Wish granted, huh?" Axle asked.

"Yeah, now I get what they mean by 'be careful what you wish for,'" Shaymin said. "I always wanted to find Skyla again and I have. And what did I find? A kidnapper. A greedy Pokémon. …A murderer if given the chance. I finally found Skyla again and she's the opposite of what I remembered her as. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. …I still don't."

"So I wanted desperately to reach out to her. To get her to tell me what happened. I don't know if you guys noticed but there's something…off about her. Something more than just how horrible she's acting. I feel it in my heart that something must be wrong with her. She must have some reason for doing this. So I wanted to know what happened. I still want to know what happened. I still want to get the old Skyla I knew back."

"And that's worked out so well," Axle said sarcastically, gaining him a glare from Eon. Shaymin shook his head though.

"No Eon…Axle's right," Shaymin said. "Skyla…whatever happened to her, she's completely closed herself off from me. No matter how much I try to reach out to her, she'll just keep pushing back against me. I don't know why, I want to know why, but there's something I have to accept. No matter how painful or horrible the truth is."

"The Skyla I knew…really did die that day in the snowstorm."

"So…what now, then?" Eon asked.

Another long paused came before Shaymin spoke once again. This time, though, he opened his eyes and a fire that wasn't there before burned in them. "Skyla nearly killed you," Shaymin said to Axle. "She nearly killed you and made Eon beg for your life. I saw how Eon looked, how desperate she was, how helpless she was. I don't care what kind of relationship we had before, but that's not ok. Nobody hurts my friends like that. So…I'm going to fight now. No matter how much it hurts, I need to stop her. I need to stop her before she hurts anyone else."

"Are you sure that resolve will last when we face her?" Axle asked. "I don't mean to sound cruel but…"

"You just want to make sure," Shaymin finished for him. "I understand."

Shaymin looked at both Axle and Eon. "That was me that saved you guys," Shaymin said. "When I finally snapped out if it, I launched a Seed Flare attack to blind Skyla. Then I grabbed you guys with Psychic and escaped. Luckily, there was a Kangaskhan's rock in the lab so I was able to grab the orbs I needed out of our bank and transport us to here."

"Oh, so that's what happened," Eon said.

Shaymin nodded. "Yeah. I also decided something."

"Decided something?" Axle asked.

Shaymin walked over to the middle of the fields. "In order to console myself after Skyla's death, I decided to live the life that I thought she would want me to," he said as he walked. "I thought that'd be a way of remembering her. I shaped a lot of my life, my actions, my philosophy, based on that idea. For a while, after seeing what happened to Skyla, I was wondering who I was. After all, if Skyla's alive and turned into…that then what life am I supposed to live? Well, I've decided."

Using the flowers surrounding him, Shaymin transformed from his Land Forme to his Sky Forme. "The life I'm going to live, is the life I want to live," Shaymin said, turning back and looking at his friends with resolve in his eyes. "I haven't…completely figured what that looks like yet. There's a lot of my life I'm gonna have to re-evaluate now. I might not even need to change a whole bunch about me. I certainly don't want to just ignore all my time with Skyla and what she taught me, as that still is a part of who I am. But from today on, I want to live a new life."

Eon smiled. "Alright. Good for you Shaymin. I know this must be hard for you, but I'm glad…" Eon's voice trailed off and stopped when she saw Shaymin shaking his head. "Shaymin…what's?"

"That's what I'm shaking my head to," Shaymin answered. "'Shaymin.' I remember when I told you guys to call me that when you asked for my name. At the time, it was because of how painful it would have been; hearing you guys call me by the name Skyla gave me. I had a nickname this entire time, something to differentiate me from the other shaymin, and I never really told you it. But I think it's time I finally use one."

"So…you want us to call you Rainflower?" Axle asked.

Shaymin shook his head again. "Nah, Skyla gave me that name for a reason. And that reason…doesn't really apply anymore. I've got a different name in mind. One I'll give myself."

Eon opened her mouth wide in shock. "Y-you're nicknaming yourself?!" she asked. "Are you sure?!"

"Sure as can be," Shaymin answered her.

"So, what's your name then?" Axle asked.

Shaymin looked up. "Skyla told me something once when naming me. A storm comes and not many Pokémon like it. It's understandable why. A rainstorm can sometimes look so fierce, it causes the roads to be all muddy, it can get Pokémon sick, the list goes on. And it's sometimes just makes us feel moody. But we need the rain. It lets the flowers and trees grow stronger and the world feels fresh afterwards."

Shaymin looked back at his friends. "Right now, I'm also going through a tough time. I see only cloudy skies ahead. But after this is over, I hope the world will feel fresh and new. And I want others to see that too. Even if there's still clouds in my heart, I want others to feel refreshed and renewed through me. I'll take this pain and create something with it. So, I decided. From now on, my name is Rain."

"Alright 'Rain,'" Eon said. "If that's really what you want to be called, then that's what I'll call you. Might…take me a bit to get used to that, though. I've been calling you 'Shaymin' for so long…"

Shaymin smiled and blushed. "Yeah, I guess that's kinda my fault a bit. Still, thanks for trying."

Axle took a step forward. "So, are you ready then, Rain?"

Shaymin closed his eyes and nodded, the Grass/Flying-Type knowing what he had to do next. "We need to go to the final location, right?" Rain asked. "Dark Crater?"

"It's not going to be a fun place, I assure you," Axle said. "Eon and I have been there before and it's a place I'd…rather avoid personally. But we don't have a choice anymore. Skyla's heading there next. She might even already be there. And the shaymin can't hold off their Flower Festival for much longer. So we need to capture the outlaws and save the shaymin kids now."

Shaymin nodded before walking forward and stretching his right paw out. "I'm with you," he said, resolve in his voice.

Eon placed her paw on his. "It's time for Team Aura…" the eevee started.

Axle on hers. "…to finish what we started," the riolu finished. "Let's head to the Dark Crater team!"

"Yeah!" they all cheered, lifting their paws into the air.


	17. Need to Breathe

Axle, Eon, and Shaymin, now with his new name of Rain, road on Lapras to the northwest of Treasure Town, where the volcanic island that holds Dark Crater lies. Upon seeing the island in the distance, both Axle and Eon shivered with the memories of their fight against the king of darkness. Still, partly thanks to the resolve Rain now showed, the trio was able to steel themselves and land on the island without the desire to turn back.

"So what's up with the Dark Crater anyways?" Rain asked as they walked on their way to the destination. "Where's this place come from? Or do you guys not know?"

"I did a bit of research before we fought Darkrai here," Eon responded, "but I wasn't able to find anything conclusive on how it came to be. There are plenty of rumors, though. The most common is that in ancient times, some sort of large meteor crashed down into it, causing it to rupture and causing the volcanic activity this place experiences. Others say there was a terrible clash between the powers of light and darkness here that caused the very land to open up and be cursed. Either way it isn't pleasant."

"It's hard to see in there, especially the lower floors, and the place is filled with volcanic ash and lava," Axle continued. "So you get to have the joys of not being able to see, breath, and boil up in the heat. The place is also even more of a labyrinth than most dungeons, making it easy to get lost. All in all, it's a place you want to avoid if at all possible."

"I'll try and filter as much of the smoke as possible," Rain said. "It might be a little difficult, though, depending on the quantity. The last volcano we were in wasn't exactly that smoky. Fire-types?"

"Plenty," Axle answered. "Especially at the start. Once we get to the bottom, though, we start seeing Rock, Ground, Ghost, and even some Dark-types along with the Fire-types. Being the wrong type of Pokémon down there is horrible. The place is horrible."

"We can at least hope that slows down Skyla, Simisage, and Gogoat," Eon said. "But you're gonna want to be careful where you're flying, Rain. You can easily land in the lava accidently and get burnt because of how thick the smoke is. That happened a couple of times to Cresselia. It really strained our resources."

"Dark Crater in a nutshell," Axle concluded. "A place no sane explorer should go."

"Which is why life sent you there twice, right?" Rain asked.

"Exactly," Axle answered bitterly. "The only solstice is that we don't have to worry about finding Darkrai and his trap at the end. We know who and we know what we're facing."

"Doesn't make me feel better," Eon said.

"Neither me, but we have to press on," Rain said. "How long until we get there?"

"Not very long," Eon answered. "You see that ring over there on the horizon that kinda looks like a mountain tilting toward us?"

"That's Dark Crater?" Rain asked.

"Yep. The entrance is in between those cliffs. Since they're not terribly large, the fact that we're seeing them means we're close."

"Let's hurry," Axle said, prompting his team to run towards the crater off in the distance. It took the trio a few more minutes, but they eventually made it to the entrance of Dark Crater. When they did, they saw something shocking.

A trio of Pokémon were completely wiped out on the floor of the entrance to the dungeon. They were a magneton, an arcanine, and houndoom. Team Aura immediately ran to the three, inspecting them as best as they could. They spent a couple minutes before converging together to talk about it.

"Looks like these three were all knocked out at the same time," Axle concluded. "Probably be a Ground-Type attack, judging based on their bruises. I'd bet these guys were the team that Officer Magnezone sent to guard this place."

"Taken out by Earth Power and Earthquake," Eon concluded as well. "Officer Magnezone must've sent them figuring Grass is against Fire and can't do much to Steel. Unfortunately…"

"He wouldn't have known that," Rain concluded. "We only told them what Pokémon the outlaws were. We never mentioned what moves they knew. We didn't even know Skyla knew Earth Power until yesterday."

Axle closed his eyes and shook his head. "I should have warned Officer Magnezone that Gogoat knew Earthquake at least," he said. "Then he might have sent a Flying-Type."

Opening them back up again he concluded, "Too late now, anyways. At least they're were knocked out quickly."

"We can't just leave them here!" Eon said.

"But we also have to catch up to Skyla quick," Rain reminded her.

"We'll use our badges to send a message to Officer Magnezone," Axle concluded. "That way, not only can he send someone to help these three, but he can also surround this place. We know for sure the outlaws are here this time so…just in case we fail, they'll still get caught."

"Not feeling very confident, leader?" Rain asked.

Axle shook his head. "It's not about confidence, I'm just making sure that the outlaws don't get away this time."

Rain shook his head. "Don't worry. The last two times were my fault. I was…distracted. This time…you have my full cooperation. The outlaws aren't getting away this time."

Axle nodded to him. "I hope so. This battle isn't going to be easy."

"We'll be fine," Eon said. Axle and Eon looked to her to see her right paw was outstretched with her badge in it. "I already sent the message to Officer Magnezone. Backup is on the way. Only one thing left to do now."

The trio all looked into their final destination, the crater that consumes everything. The trio stood still for a few seconds, steeling themselves for the fight ahead. After those few seconds, Axle nodded to his friends and they all walked in towards the Dark Crater.

* * *

As Axle warned, Dark Crater was filled with a choking smoke everywhere the team walked. Rain was able to purify the area around them, but their visibility was still vastly limited while walking through the cave. The black, lava caked walls around them along with the black smoke made seeing anything around difficult, and it only got worse as they got farther and farther away from the entrance. Therefore, enemies jumped out at what felt like random times, attacking Team Aura as they did with their fiery attacks. Magcargo, combuskin, quilava, all of them attacked, turning up the heat in the already hot crater.

Still Team Aura managed. Axle's X-Ray Specs helped them see when enemies were coming, Rain's natural ability to purify the air allowed them to breathe easier, and Eon was able to get the jump on most enemies with her long-ranged attacks by Axle's direction. Despite the struggle and Axle and Eon's resignations, the team was able to go through Dark Crater despite its difficulty.

"So, since you two have been here before, any idea where Clover's treasure is?" Rain asked during a brief respite while they were walking through the dungeon.

"Not a clue," Axle answered.

"While we were going through here the first time, we were really more focused on making it to the end and finding Darkrai," Eon elaborated. "We didn't even consider the possibility that this place had a treasure hidden within it. So there's not much we can really say to help. Sorry."

"I didn't notice anything odd or suspicious about the end," Axle said. "But I suppose with Darkrai in front of my face, I wasn't too concerned. Of course, that's assuming the object we're looking for is at the end of the dungeon. For all we know, we could have passed it and not even noticed it. Still, to think Clover would put something all the way in here."

"Well, we've still got the Dimensional Scream on our side," Eon said. "We'll just have to poke around when we reach the end to see if we can find anything. I just hope we're not too late."

"We're around…halfway there if I had my guess," Axle said. "So we'll know in just a bit longer."

"Yeah, you're right," Rain said. "Besides, we're not here for Clover's treasure anyways. Skyla's waiting for us as well."

"And we don't even know where she is either," Eon mused. "We could have passed her and her team already without even knowing it."

Axle shook his head. "I've been searching for their aura since we got here," Axle said. "They're still further ahead of us."

"How much ahead of us?" Rain asked.

Axle shook his head. "I don't know for sure," he admitted. "With all the smoke and heat around, it's hard to concentrate for long enough to get a clear lock on their auras. All I can say is they're ahead."

"Guess we just keep going then," Rain summarized.

"It gets worse from here, though," Eon warned. "We need to be careful from here on out."

Axle and Rain nodded. "Right," they both said.

So the trio continued on through the dungeon, facing whatever challenges that came their way. As Eon warned, though, the dungeon only became more and more difficult to traverse as they went along. Which they got an example of very soon after entering the second half of the dungeon.

"Oh…gosh…what the heck is this?" Rain coughed out as they walked through the corridors of the dungeon. "Why is there so much smoke around?"

"Don't overexert yourself," Axle commanded. "We made it through once before without purifying the smoke, we can do it again. If you can't handle it, don't try too hard."

"Please tell me this stuff clears out at least eventually," Rain said as he stopped the purification process, causing the smoke to come in closer. "Ugg…this smoke is horrible. It's so hot, it's hard to see, it's hard to breathe. You guys weren't kidding when you talked about this place."

"Now you see why we didn't want to come back," Axle said.

"It'll be much clearer when we reach the bottom," Eon said, trying to put some pep in her voice despite the circumstance. "Until then, we just have to tough it ou…"

"Enemies are approaching," Axle said, suddenly stopping.

"What are they?" Rain asked. "I can't see a thing in this smog."

"Camerupt coming from our left," Axle answered. "Mismagius from a wall 45 degrees to the right. Focus on the camerupt first and let the mismagius come to us."

"Hard to focus on anything right now, but I'll try," Rain said. "You're gonna have to give me a good view on them before I can let out a Psychic, though."

"I'll strike first," Axle said. "When I made contact, I want the two of you to attack in that direction with all your strength. We need to knock it out fast as possible."

"Roger," both Eon and Rain said.

Axle watched through the smoke, waiting for when the camerupt was close enough for him to reliably strike. When the camerupt was only a few feet away, just before it was in range to see Axle, the riolu's arm glowed silver and he launched a barrage of attacks that not only cleared up some of the smoke, but also hit the camerupt. This allowed Eon and Rain to launch a Shadow Ball and Energy Ball respectively at the Pokémon, knocking it out instantly.

Their victory was short-lived, however, as a Shadow Ball came down and hit Axle in his shoulder. Axle flinched, grabbing his shoulder, before looking over at the mismagius who finally approached. Rain and Eon, only seeing the explosion but not where it came from, quickly ran up to their teammate to make sure he was ok.

"I'll live you guys," Axle said, still clutching his shoulder while facing where the attack came from. "We've got more important things to worry about, though. Mismagius. Follow my line of sight."

Rain and Eon both shot their respective long-ranged attacks in the direction of Axle's sight and the riolu saw that they both managed to hit their mark, knocking the mismagius out instantly. Axle rubbed his shoulder a bit more before focusing on the task at hand.

"Visibility is severely down," Axle said. "We're going to have to do it like we did in the Black Hole Caverns. Let's be careful, you guys."

"Roger," Rain said with a nod. Eon nodded too.

So Team Aura walked through the rest of the dungeon in a similar formation to how they walked through the Black Hole Caverns. This formation allowed them to traverse the dungeon without getting lost, however the frequent attacks from enemies battered Team Aura on their travel through the dungeon, Axle having the worst of it because of his position in the front.

So, by the time the smoke cleared out around them, indicating their proximity to the bottom of the dungeon, they were worn out and beaten. Axle had several cuts and scrapes on himself, burnt fur here and there, and he was holding the same shoulder that the mismagius hit with a Shadow Ball earlier. Eon's fur was matted and caked with dust, and the eevee was also starting to limp around. Rain had it the best, as his fur was only ruffled around a bit, but he coughed occasionally and Axle could tell he was having trouble breathing.

Luckily, Axle had good news as they reached the bottom. "I feel their aura," Axle said. "Skyla, Gogoat, and Simisage are up ahead."

"Finally," Eon whined.

Axle turned around to examine at his teammates. "Let's heal up quickly while we're here before we face off against them," Axle said. "We're in no state right now to fight them."

Eon looked up from her slumped state. "Uhh, Axle. Not that I disagree or anything, but my bag is feeling really light," she said. "And I doubt your bag is any better. We don't have many items left."

Axle nodded. "I know. I don't like having no items as a failsafe anymore then you do. But I'd rather fight them fresh off the bat then fight them as we are right now. Besides, we've fought them twice already. We'll be fine."

"I hope you're right," Rain said.

Axle directed his attention to Rain. "Steel yourself while we're eating, Rain," Axle said. "Remember the resolve you showed to us. When we get out there…"

Rain nodded. "Leave Skyla to me," he promised. "That's why you had so much trouble last fight, right? With Skyla out of the way, you an Eon can concentrate all your energy on Simisage and Gogoat."

"I'll leave you to it," Axle said. "This is it team. We can't fail this one. After we're done, let's take out those outlaws."


	18. A Heated Fight

Refreshed and restored, though itemless, Team Aura left their small enclose and walked down to the bottom of the Dark Crater. There they reached dead end on a small platform of heated dark gray rocks surrounded by black sharp rocks which only housed magma on the other side of them. The heat from the room was at its most unbearable from being in close proximity to the planet's primordial fires, but Team Aura's vison was clear and there they could see the trio they were looking for.

Skyla, Gogoat, and Simisage were at the far edge of Dark Crater's pit, looking at the intimidating gray rocks in front of them. From one look at them, Axle wasn't exactly sure what they were doing, but he didn't care at the moment. He, and the rest of his team behind him, immediately ran further in to interrupt whatever the outlaws had planned.

"Nice weather we're having, isn't it?" Rain asked when the outlaws were in earshot. That caused the three of them to immediately turn around to look at Team Aura. Not one to lose momentum, though, Rain continued. "It's hot, steamy, hard to breath in. Gotta admit, though, it makes a great backdrop for a final battle."

"You three really like running away only to hound us later, huh?" Skyla asked. "You'd think you'd have learned your lesson by now, but no. You guys keep coming back just to be thorns in our side."

"I'm not in the mood for this right now," Simisage said, the dungeon clearly having its toll on him. Aside from his annoyed voice breaking his normal lax and hot-blooded demeaner, he was also had several burns across his body and a few scratches. "Could you wimps just go to the running away part right now and save us the trouble of beating you?"

"Big talk for someone who ran away from us when we first met!" Eon yelled. "We weren't so much wimps back them, were we? We only lost to you the second time because our team wasn't at our strongest. But we're back now! So it's time you three pay for your crimes!"

"Sure sure, whatever you say," Skyla said, her tone of voice completely bored by what was going on.

"Skyla!" Rain called out.

"Rainflower, how many times do I have to tell you to get it through your head?" Skyla asked. "It's been a century. We've changed. Get that through you're he-"

"It's Rain now," Rain interrupted, shaking his head and closing his eyes.

This flabbergasted Skyla. "It's…what now?" she asked, her annoyed stoic face breaking for a moment to show actual shock.

Rain smiled with his eyes still closed. "You said it yourself, Skyla," Rain said. "It's been a century and we've changed. That doesn't just apply to you. I've also changed a lot since you disappeared." Rain opened his eyes. "I had to decide a lot of things about myself. What kind of life I'm going to live. Who I am. At first, I decided that I wanted to live a life that you'd want me to live. Unfortunately, since you're still alive and have clear distain for me, I can't really do that anymore. Then I wanted more than anything to understand you and try and bring you back. But you've closed yourself off to me, so I can't do that now either."

Rain shook his head once more. "I still don't know what type of life I want to live now. I'm going to have to think about that and decide it for myself sometime in the future. But I do know one thing. I'm not going to be the type of Pokémon that lets his friends get hurt in front of his face. I'm not going to be the type of Pokémon that stands by as a bunch of kidnappers try to get away. So, as much as I want to understand you, I've got something much more important to do."

Rain looked at Skyla with determination. "My names is Rain, and Skyla, I'm going to take you out and drag you to the authorities!" Rain said decisively.

Skyla looked down and chuckled. "Rain huh? You really have changed, then. You even gave yourself your own nickname." Skyla looked back up, her normal expression back on her face. "But I've gone too far to give up now. And I've got too much at stake to lose here! So I'm sorry, 'Rain', but you're not going to win against me."

"We'll see about that," Rain said.

Both shaymin took off straight into the sky without a second thought to those they left on land. While in the air, Rain struck first, firing an Energy Ball aimed at Skyla's right side. Skyla dodged around it with a spin and responded by firing an Air Slash back at Rain. Rain countered with his own double Air Slash, and the two attacks canceled each other out in a puff of wind.

"Heh, that all you got?" Rain asked.

"Don't you dare toy with me!" Skyla yelled, Energy Ball forming in her mouth. She fired it at Rain, who dodged the attack with the greatest of ease.

"Just so long as you don't underestimate me," Rain responded by trying to hit Skyla with a Psychic attack.

Skyla broke free quickly from Rain's psychic hold and flew over to Rain's left side for her next attack. While she quickly flew over there, several spheres of energy surrounded her on all sides. She fired her Hidden Power attack at Rain, knocking him back a bit from the power of the attack.

"Don't underestimate you?" Skyla sneered. "That's a laugh. I can tell your heart isn't into your attacks. You don't want to fight me and you know it. Why bother?"

"I told you before, I'm not going to let you continue doing what you're doing!" Rain said. "You've kidnapped a bunch of kids, hurt my friends, assaulted some police officers, all for just a treasure? What you're doing is wrong and you know it!"

"So what?" Skyla asked. "Every day, Pokémon die. Good Pokémon who did nothing wrong but lost their lives because of some stupid twist of fate. And what do their lives matter in the end? No matter how good or ill they did, they're all forgotten eventually. Even your friends. Someday, sooner or later, those friends you fight with are going to die. And no matter how famous they are, their memory will end up lost in the wind. You know this as well as I do. How is any of that 'fair?' Where's the moral in that? So why don't you quit this ridiculous notion of 'morality' and just join me? Come hundreds of years from now, the world won't even remember whether what I'm doing is wrong or not."

"And what about Clover?" Rain asked. "You're looking for her treasure right now in a place she explored once. Isn't that a lasting legacy?"

"You mean as a fairy tale we tell the new bloomers so they can aspire to something?" Skyla asked. "The same one we mostly forget after we're kids. How is that fair to Clover's legacy? And what about the humans? Their history is regarded as nothing more than fairy tales too. They ignore it or call it fiction. How is that fair to them? At least Clover has a name. None of the humans we read about have any names that lasted. They've all been forgotten, their memories turned to fiction."

"I…I…" Rain grunted, his eyes closing in frustration.

"That's right, you don't have an answer! Of course you don't! Life isn't fair! Life doesn't care about who was right or wrong in the end! So just give up already!"

And Skyla took all her rage and charged towards the motionless, her body enveloped in purple with golden streaks surrounding her. Her Giga Impact attack was sent towards Rain with him not moving an inch at first to stop himself from hitting it. It looked like Skyla would hit Rain with the full force of her attack, her just inches away from him, when Rain finally said something.

"I don't believe that!" Rain said decisively, stopping Skyla dead in her tracks before she could hit him with the suddenness of what he said.

"What?"

"You mentioned humans, but you forgot one thing," Rain said. "Even if we forgot their names, they still left a legacy for us. We read about them thanks to the fact that they invented books. Groups like the Exploration Team Federation exist based off ruling systems humans made. The reason we have houses, villages, towns, and cities are thanks to the fact that humans came up with those ideas. Our morals are based on the ones they had. Even if they're mostly forgotten, their legacy lives on."

Rain closed the tiny gap between himself and Skyla. "So no, I do have something to fight here. Even if history forgets this fight ever happened, I'll still make sure that the winner here fought for the right side. Little things like that, while forgotten, will move the world forward into hopefully a better world. So no, Skyla, no matter how useless you think it feels. No matter what our relationship was like!" Rain's body began glowing uncontrollably. "I won't let you hurt anybody else!"

The bright light grew so strong that it filled the entire room, blinding most combatants. From that bright light came rainbow colored beams that sliced through the air and blew Skyla back, sending her flying towards the floor. Skyla was just able to catch herself before she slammed into the volcanic ground, but she was still flinching from the power of the attack. When the light cleared, Rain was still flying above the ground, mystified as to what just happened.

"Wha…what move was that?" he asked, awe in his voice.

"Eon?" Axle asked.

"I…don't know," Eon answered. "I've never seen a move like that before."

"Dazzling Gleam," Skyla answered. "So, you learned Dazzling Gleam, huh?"

"That's…what that move is called?" Rain asked. "Wow. I…don't even know what it is but…" Rain shook his head and looked at Skyla, "I'll use it to fight."

"Fine," Skyla said. "Bring it on."

Axle turned his attention away from the two shaymin and towards his adversaries. A quick tap on Eon's shoulder with his left paw allowed her to focus as well. They both looked at each other and nodded before looking back at Simisage and Gogoat. Axle formed a Focus Blast and Eon began a Shadow Ball and they both fired while Simisage and Gogoat were still distracted. As such, both attacks hit their mark and caused the two outlaws to fly back a little.

"H-hey!" Simisage yelled out. "That was a cheap trick! I thought you were supposed to be the good guys!"

"S-sorry," Eon apologized sincerely, but Axle just shook his head.

"I'm not too interested in fighting 'honorably' against Pokémon like you," Axle said, "nor do I feel guilty about it. I'd honestly rather be taking on your leader right now for all she's put us through, but Rain has more of a right to. So I'll just have to take my anger out on you."

Simisage cracked his knuckles. "Heh, you sound really serious about this. This might actually be a fun challenge for a change."

"Don't underestimate them," Gogoat said.

"I've got this!" Simisage announced before running, paws at the ready for a Fury Swipes attack.

Axle responded by running himself, his paws outstretched and seemly ready to start another Shadow Claw/Fury Swipes clash. At least, that's how it looked at first, and Simisage even swiped at Axle when they both got in range, but Axle ducked under at the last minute. From there, Axle launched a Drain Punch uppercut, knocking Simisage into the air.

"Your turn, Eon!" Axle called out.

Before Simisage hit the ground, and therefore before he was able to do anything, Eon fired a Shadow Ball at him, hitting him while he was in mid-air. The attack hit Simisage hard, knocking him into the pillars of rock at the back.

Gogoat shook his head, "I warned him," he said. "This is why the fool should have listened to me."

Without saying another word, Gogoat charged at Axle with an Aerial Ace attack that hit the riolu hard before he was able to even react, sending him flying back. Once he saw Axle hit the ground, and before Eon was able to react to what was happening, Gogoat slammed his hooves into the ground to cause an Earthquake. The attack hit both Axle and Eon, and gave Simisage time to recover and return to Gogoat's side.

"Hey, careful with the Earthquakes there!" Simisage yelled when he got there. "I don't care if I resist it, I'm not immune!"

"I wouldn't have needed it, had you not gotten yourself in trouble," Gogoat said.

"J-just…shut up!" Simisage said.

While those two were arguing, Eon took her chance to run towards Axle and help him back on his paws. Luckily, Axle was able to get back up and brush the dirt off of him, but he could still feel the cuts from the attacks. One look from Eon saw that she, while a bit better off then him, still had some wounds on her. Axle also guessed that some of the fatigue from making it there would start affecting them soon.

"Alright, Eon, we need to take out one of them as soon as we can," Axle said. "That way we can fight two on one. While I'd like to take out Gogoat first, as he's the more powerful of the two, I think we should take out Simisage."

"So, what's the plan then?" Eon asked.

"Smoke and mirrors then all out attack" Axle answered. Eon nodded before firing a Shadow Ball into Axle's paws, which Axle managed to hold on to without it exploding.

Axle and Eon turned their attention towards Gogoat and Simisage to see the two of them were finally done with their argument and were turning around. So Eon took the preemptive and jumped onto Axle's shoulders before launching herself into the air. From her higher perspective, she rained down stars towards Gogoat. Axle, meanwhile, shot Eon's Shadow Ball straight above Gogoat directly in the path of Eon's stars. Those two attacks collided and what looked like a dark smoke rained down over Gogoat, blocking his vision.

"W-wha-?" Gogoat grunted.

Axle ignored that and focused on where Eon was falling. He quickly ran to the point where Eon would soon impact and stood there with his arms outstretched to catch her. Axle did, but when Eon impacted his arms it caused him himself to fall down and impact the ground. Axle felt both the whiplash and the impact, but he ignored all that to get back off the ground.

"Are you ok, Eon?" Axle asked.

"Yeah, I'll live," Eon said as she worked to get back on her four paws. "Thanks for breaking my fall."

Axle nodded. "No problem. Now, part two while we still have time."

Eon nodded. "Part two."

Axle turned around to quickly examine what Simisage was doing at the moment. When he did, he saw that Simisage was looking at the smoke around Gogoat with surprise. Axle nodded in Eon's direction when he saw that before running after Simisage. He placed a paw onto Simisage's chest—at which point the Thorn Monkey Pokémon noticed him—and attacked Simisage with a Force Palm attack that knocked him back. After that he felt Eon jump off his shoulders once again and saw her slam against Simisage's head with a glowing silver tail. This launched her back into the air and knocked Simisage's head hard into the ground. Axle prepared a Focus Blast while Eon prepared a Shadow Ball and they shot both the attacks against Simisage, both attacks exploding when it hit the grass simian. Axle caught Eon once again, this time without plummeting to the ground afterwards, and when they looked back, the smoke cleared and Simisage was on the ground, knocked out.

"One down!" Eon cheered.

"It's not over, though," Axle said, his eyes skating away from Simisage's body and towards the smoke around Gogoat. The smoke was starting to clear and Gogoat himself was using a frenzied Leaf Blade to help blow the smoke away.

When the smoke finally completely cleared, Gogoat took a surprisingly calm look around him where he saw both Simisage knocked out on the ground and Axle and Eon looking at him. Axle watched his face, expecting some sort of negative emotion on the Mount Pokémon's face, but the riolu saw nothing. The Grass-type's face was completely calm. Axle almost found it unnerving how mild the outlaw was despite one of his team member's being knocked out right in front of him.

"Skyla, get down here," Gogoat said, without yelling, without any fluctuation in his voice, without even a really commanding voice.

Axle and Eon took his cue to look up and see how the aerial battle was going. Skyla and Rain looked like they were both on equal footing from the battle. They both had various scratches and marks and were both panting hard from exertion. When Skyla heard her name, she turned her attention from the battle and looked down to see what was happening below. She saw Simisage knocked out and immediately flew towards Gogoat.

"What's going on?" Skyla asked harshly.

"Those two have grown a lot stronger," Gogoat said. "Simisage is down."

"Pfft, great," Skyla grunted. "Just what we needed."

Rain flew down when he saw what was happening and went towards Axle and Eon. "Looks like we've got them on the ropes, then, right?" Rain asked.

"Rain, are you ok?" Axle asked.

"Took a couple of hits, but I'm fine," Rain said. "Getting really tired, though. Don't got much energy left in me. Neither does Skyla, though. I can tell."

"Good to know," Axle said. "Looks like we're getting closer to do or die time."

"Fine, let's go," Skyla said, interrupting Axle and Rain's conversation. "Let's just take out these guys already."

"I assume you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting," Gogoat said. Gogoat and Skyla looked at Team Aura, Gogoat lifting his hooves up. Axle figured out what they were doing immediately and frantically looked at Eon and Rain.

"Rain, get Eon off the ground, now!" Axle yelled.

Rain shook his head. "No. You and Eon get side to side close enough so you're touching," he said quickly.

Eon looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Rain, is now really the time for-" Eon asked, but she was interrupted by the sudden feeling of Axle pressing against her side. This silenced her immediately and caused her face to turn slightly red.

With Axle and Eon pressed together, Rain flew around them as fast as he could. Axle and Eon eventually felt the wind whip around them, lifting them up into the air. Rain flew them higher and higher, to the point where the they were high enough to avoid the Earth Power and Earthquake combination.

"Wha-?!" Skyla asked.

"Don't you remember?" Rain asked while flying around. "When we fly we build up a lot of wind around us. It's how the Flower Festival happens in the first place. Normally, it takes more than one shaymin to do something like this, but I worked on it. It's thanks to your advice actually. All the advice that you gave me while I was learning to fly. Anyways, Axle, Eon, now!"

Rain stopped and flew at Axle's left side. Axle realized exactly what was going on and nodded to Eon. From the look on her face, she figured it out as well and they all looked down towards Skyla and Gogoat. Axle launched a Focus Blast, Eon a Shadow Ball, and Rain a double Air Slash, all those attacks heading towards Gogoat and Skyla. An Energy Ball and Leaf Blade from Gogoat and Skyla intercepted the three attacks, but also caused them to explode in a large puff of smoke.

"Rain, can you send us flying towards them?" Axle asked while there was still enough wind to keep them high in the air.

"Yeah, but what about Eon?" Rain asked.

Axle cringed at his own words, but said them anyways, "She said she didn't want her paws to be a hindrance to us. So I choose to believe she can handle it." Axle looked at Eon. "Are you ok with this?"

"I'll be fine!" Eon said confidently. "Don't worry about me. If you have a plan, I'm willing to go through with it."

Axle nodded at her. "Good. Then let's ram at them at full speed with our strongest attacks!"

Rain flew around one more time, to whip up some more air, before he charged forward as fast as possible with as much force as possible. The shaymin passed right in between Skyla and Gogoat, blasting them both with a powerful gust of air to distract them. Meanwhile, Axle and Eon were propelled forward by the air at high speeds. While flying forward, Axle launched forward a Drain Punch directed at Gogoat while Eon prepared a Return attack which she planned to hit Skyla with. Both attacks connected nearly instantly, blowing Gogoat and Skyla back with the force of the attack. The attack sent those two in the back pillar of rocks with enough force to shatter them and scatter dust everywhere.

As the dust settled, Axle took stock of himself and his team. He felt a strong, throbbing pain in his right arm and that arm also wouldn't respond to his movements. Axle's left arm instinctively reached to his right arm to try and dull the pain. Beyond that, he felt better and more energized than before, the Drain Punch taking its effect, but he knew he couldn't use his right arm for the rest of this fight. His eyes next glanced around until he found Eon. The eevee was lying on the floor with one eye open and another closed in extreme pain. He could also see a red mark on her brown forehead, likely where she impacted Skyla. Finally, Axle looked to Rain to see he was the healthiest, naturally, as he just flew forward and would have been able to slow his momentum before he hit the ground. Still, Rain looked towards where Skyla and Gogoat flew into with an invested focus, the dust still in the air preventing him from seeing anything.

"D-did we win?" Eon managed to grunt out, her position in the ground unable to see where Skyla and Gogoat were.

"We don't know," Axle answered.

"I don't know which I want," Rain admitted.

Eventually, the dust settled, and Axle and Rain were able to see everything. Gogoat was on his back, eyes closed, unmoving. One quick look over him and all his wounds from the attack and the impact against the rocks and Axle figured out that he succumbed to them, knocked him out finally. Skyla, on the other hand, was still conscious, and was looking over Gogoat's unmoving body with the same vested interest that Rain previously looked towards her. She had very similar wounds as Gogoat over her, yet she still was able to stand.

Eventually, her attention turned back towards Team Aura with a glare. Skyla stepped forward to confront them, but she staggered almost drunkenly as she did so. Axle wondered if she could even fly anymore, and hopped she wouldn't try and accidently fly somewhere dangerous. Still, despite how much pain she looked to be in, she continued her walk.

"Skyla," Rain called.

Axle just shook his head. "Rain, you know what must be done, right? She's in pain so…"

"I just want to try one more thing," Rain said as he looked over his once-girlfriend. "Don't worry. Even if this fails, well…"

Rain closed his eyes and sighed before opening them and meeting Skyla in the middle. "Skyla, it's over," Rain told her as he walked. "It's finally over. You're too weak to keep fighting. If nothing changes, you're going to jail soon." Rain stopped right in front of her. "And I will send you there myself. So, if you have anything left to say for yourself, please say it now. I want to know what happened. I want to know why you're doing this. So Skyla, please."

Skyla looked Rain in the eye with an unreadable expression. An indefinable amount of time passed as the two stared at each other. Axle himself watched this, ready for whatever Skyla would do. Eventually Skyla looked to the ground in guilt, surprising both Axle and Rain.

"Skyla, are you…?" Rain asked.

"Rainflower…I'm sorry," Skyla whispered.

Suddenly, a green sphere of light flashed in Axle's right eye before slamming into Eon, before anybody was able to react. Axle immediately followed the trajectory of the attack to find where the Energy Ball attack came from. It didn't take long for Axle to find the source. The source of the attack led his eyes back to Skyla, seeing her facing Eon's direction, a glare once again on her face.

Anger filled through Axle's entire body and he felt himself unconsciously running towards Skyla, his left arm wreathed in a shadowy claw that he planned on slashing Skyla with until his anger subsides. However, he was suddenly stopped as a psychic aura surrounded him, locking him in place. Axle, in his rage, looked around for the source of the Psychic that kept him immobile. When he did, he caught eyes with Rain, and one glance on the shaymin's face told him all he needed to know.

 _I'll handle this, Axle_ , Rain's look told him.

Axle canceled his Shadow Claw attack and Rain canceled his Psychic hold over the riolu. Axle kept his eye on the proceedings between Rain and Skyla, but instead focused on going to Eon's side in checking on her. This gave Rain time to look once again directly in Skyla's eye.

"So, is that your answer?' Rain asked. Skyla once again looked away, unable to keep looking Rain in the eye. Rain sighed. "Alright, fine."

Rain launched an Air Slash attack at Skyla. "I'm sorry," Skyla said before the attack hit and as it did she let out one last word that Axle couldn't hear.

Rain let out one last deep breath as he watched Skyla fall before him from his attack. With that done, Rain looked back at Axle and Eon to check on them. By the time he and Axle crossed eyes again, Axle already had Eon in his paws and was holding her upside down away from the ground. When that happened, Axle responded to Rain's question before he was even able to ask it.

"She's alive," Axle said, "but some of her wounds look pretty severe. We need to get her back to the guild immediately."

"Yeah, I know," Rain said. "But first…"

Rain grabbed out his Exploration badge and held it over Skyla. A golden light surrounded her, sending her out of the dungeon and towards the police. He next did the same thing to the closest outlaw to Skyla, Simisage, Finally, he walked over to the edge of the lava pool where he arrested Gogoat. As he did so, however, he let out an audible gasp.

Axle heard that gasp and looked up at him. "What happened?"

Rain looked back at Axle and levitated over a strange gold sphere. It seemed to be in the shape of a Pokeball, a strange object most Pokémon chose as their symbol, only it was pure gold instead of red and white and had strange markings on the top. Axle and Rain looked at each other with mixed gazes of confusion at the weird object the shaymin found.

"Axle, do you think…?" Rain asked.

Axle shook his head. "We'll take it back with us to check, but I honestly could care less right now. Let's just head home."

Rain slipped it into Axle's bag. "Sorry, you're right," he said. "Let's go."


	19. A Final Fight to Win

Axle looked at the sickly white walls of the infirmary, getting annoyed at constantly seeing those blank sterile walls because of what they have started to represent. While he was watching the walls, he felt so claustrophobic and so useless. His right arm was currently wrapped up to his right side in a sling to prevent him from moving it, making his left arm the only functional one. He was also completely alone in the infirmary, Eon off for intensive treatment and Rain off making sure that the shaymin kids were all brought back to their home safely. Axle hated being stuck in one spot without knowing anything, to the point where he wanted to punch the nearest object without any regard for what it is.

Eventually, Axle heard the sound of the door to his left opening up, prompting him to look in that direction to see who it was. He knew immediately that it was Rain walking in, as Chimecho was with Eon in the room to the right. The sound of footsteps quickly confirmed for him from that fact, as Chimecho always floats, and the sight of the shaymin walking in further let that hope die. Still, Axle decided not to let the disappointment mar his face too much and instead focused on what Rain looked like.

The shaymin had a world-weary look on his face, the full weight of what happened over the past few days clearly distinct on his face. He also had his eyes on the ground as he walked, not even looking up to see Axle. The riolu could tell he was struggling with his thoughts, and he had a guess as to where those thoughts came from. Though he knew Rain couldn't see, Axle still nodded in understanding in his direction.

 _Rain, you still have a lot to work out about yourself, don't you?_ Axle thought. _The battle for me and the shaymin kids might be over now, but the battle for you has just began. In fact, I think now's when your true battle begins._

"So, any word on finding the shaymin kids?" Axle asked.

Rain finally looked up at Axle. "They're fine. According to Officer Magnezone, Skyla divulged the information of where they have been hiding before she was thrown behind bars. She didn't even ask for a lessened sentence for it. I…just don't understand her." Rain shook his head. "Anyways, they went to the outlaws' hideout and rescued the kids. They were all returned back to Shaymin Village."

"Alright, good to know those kids are being returned home," Axle said. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Rain said with a nod. "They found a couple of peculiar items there as well. They gave them to me but…I imagine you're not too interested in them right now, aren't you? And frankly…I'm not too interested right now too."

Rain looked up to the door on the other side of the room. "So…dare I ask how Eon is doing?"

"I can answer that," Eon's voice rang out from the left.

Axle and Rain's eyes immediately shot over towards the sound of her voice where they saw Eon and Chimecho standing in the doorway. Contrary to what Axle expected, Eon's head was the only part of her body wrapped around and she was apparently able to stand just fine. She still had singed fur in various spots and she had several bandages, but beyond that, the eevee looked a lot better than Axle was expecting. Looking over her, he felt a weight he didn't even realize he was carrying lift from him and he could breathe easier.

"Eon, you're alright!" Axle called out.

"About as close to 'alright' as I can be anyways," Eon said with a blush. "I've felt better, admittedly. My head feels like it's going to explode."

"The worst Eon suffered was a minor concussion," Chimecho explained from her spot float over Eon's right shoulder. "From what you guys told me, her fall was likely broken when she smashed into Skyla, so the strain was worse on her skull then it was on the muscles around her paws. The Energy Ball was really just the tipping point to knock her out; nothing more."

Axle looked down and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," he said. However, when he looked up the light-blue body of the wind-chime Pokémon filled his vision, glaring down at him.

"Let me say this one more time just to make sure you get it," Chimecho said. "Get some rest and don't do anything strenuous for the next couple of days to a week. You guys are really battered and beaten and in no shape to do any explorations. You and Eon are to rest. Got it?"

"Y-yeah," Axle said, intimidated by a floating tag and somewhat embarrassed by it. "The outlaws are captured now, so we're good."

Chimecho floated a couple of inches back and nodded. "Good," she said. "I'll leave you guys alone to talk then." Chimecho floated out the left door leaving Team Aura in the room all alone.

"So, we did win, right?" Eon asked.

Axle glanced to Rain and, seeing that he was in no shape answering that question, answered it for him. "Yeah, we did," Axle said. "Rain knocked out Skyla after you were knocked out and then arrested the three of them."

"Alright. Got it," Eon said. Her head lifted up as she suddenly realized something. "Oh yeah! What about the clue to Clover's Treasure? Did you guys happen to find that?"

Axle shrugged his left shoulder. "We found…something. After Rain arrested Gogoat there was this strange gold ball that we found on the dungeon floor next to him. At that point in time I didn't really care much about it. It was out of place enough so Rain grabbed it, but that's pretty much it."

"A random gold ball?" Eon asked. "That's strange."

"I think it might have been in those rocks the entire time, but I wouldn't know how it got there," Axle said. "We'll have to investigate it further to figure out whether it's actually part of Clover's treasure or not. But for now…well, you can probably guess."

"And the shaymin kids?" Eon asked. "What about them?"

"They were found and have all been brought home," Axle confirmed. "According to Officer Magnezone, they're all just fine."

"They were apparently all well taken care of despite being…you know," Rain finally chimed into the conversation.

"It's too bad we weren't able to save them ourselves, but I'm glad they're all safe," Eon said. "And I'll assume the last of Clover's items…?"

"Were given to us," Axle finished for her. "And that's all that really happened while you were out."

Eon nodded. "Alright, thanks for catching me up." Her eyes then went over to Rain, who's eyes had been looking towards the floor the entire conversation, as if he was lost in thoughts while trying to pay attention. "Rain, are you ok?" Eon asked.

"…No, I'm not," Rain admitted after a long pause. "We've done what we set out to do. We rescued the kids, they're back home, the flower gathering and Flower Festival can go on as planned, and I suppose all's well that ends well. But…"

Tears started welling up in Rain's eyes as he clenched them shut. "We don't know a thing!" he yelled. "Why Skyla?! Why did you do all this?! What did you seriously want all of this! What happened to you! Just…why?"

Axle looked down, choosing his words carefully. "She whispered something when you knocked her out, right?" Axle asked. "I saw her lips move. Did you hear what she said."

"'Sakura'," Rain said. "It's a type of flower. They're the flowers that grow when you're making Cheri Berries and are sometimes known as Cheri Blossoms. They're often associated with symbolizing life. This is just what I've been told. I…don't understand why she said it, though."

"'Sakura' huh?" Eon asked. "S-sorry. I don't really know what that means either."

"I can speculate, but you probably won't like it," Axle said. "Based on what we know so far, it's likely that Skyla herself approached the outlaws with the idea to search for Clover's treasure, and the means of doing so. As a shaymin she would have known about it and would have come up with the idea of kidnapping the kids for more information. Where she met the outlaws, why she decided to go for Clover's treasure, that we don't really know. However…"

Axle paused for a moment, debating on whether he should really divulge what he was about to say, but he eventually relented. "When Simisage mentioned it was all for money a while back, I sensed Skyla's aura. I'm not completely positive, as she's really hard to read sometimes, but I got the sense that wasn't her motivation at all. Beyond that, though, I can't really say. I can't even begin to speculate based on her emotions the true reason she decided to go after Clover's Treasure. Only that there was something other than money she planned to get out of it."

Rain mulled over Axle's words for a while before turning to his left to look out the window of the infirmary. "…It's funny actually," Rain said. "I think a part of me would have preferred if Skyla was just after the money as well. I constantly want to think that Skyla just turned evil somehow, just became a cold, despicable outlaw in the hundreds of years since she disappeared. That way I could hate her. But…"

"She keeps doing things that doesn't fit with that idea," Rain said, his voice starting to strain, "And I can't figure out why. Giving up the locations of the kids I could peg as her just giving up. But treating them pretty well and taking care of them the best she could? I just…don't get her."

Rain shook her head. "I know what I want to think. 'Something's happened to her or something is wrong with her. That must be why she's doing the things she's doing. Maybe she was forced into it or something?' That's what I want to think. But then she acted so cruel and callously. She threatened to kill you guys and nearly made true to that promise. So with that information, what am I to think?"

"I…don't think we can answer that for you," Eon said. "Only you can answer that, Rain. I'm sorry."

Rain shook his head. "No, don't apologize," he said. "It's not really your fault. I just…I don't know what to think. The funny thing is, I think a part of me still loves her. Or…at least wants to love her. I don't know, it's all so complicated. I really don't know what to think about everything."

A hallow laugh rang out from Rain's voice. "Everything's just…so complicated. Honestly, while you two are physically unfit to go exploring, I think I'm mentally unfit."

"Wait…what are you saying?" Axle asked.

Rain looked away from the window and in Axle's eyes. "Axle…I'd like to request some time off," Rain finally said. "I'm…going to be flying and join this year's Flower Festival. It's starting tomorrow, so I'll be leaving today. There…I plan on thinking through some things. Trying to figure out Skyla, trying to figure out who I want to be, things like that. I'm sorry you guys but…I need this. I told you before, I'm mentally unfit to even begin thinking about going on explorations with you guys again."

Axle nodded towards Rain. "If you really need this then, I can't really argue. We're not going to be doing much around here anyways for a while."

"If you really need it, we'll be fine on our own for a while," Eon assured him. "Go. You need the rest."

"Heh, thanks you guys," Rain said. He turned around to walk off, but didn't move quite yet. "Hey, while I'm gone, would you guys mind doing me a favor?"

"A favor?" Axle asked.

"Clover's treasure," Rain said. "We've got all the items now. I put them all in your bag. Right now, I'm not really sure what they could mean. So, while I'm off, would you guys mind investigating those items and figuring out what they might mean for Clover's Treasure? If you need help, I know Elder Hedge will still be around Shaymin Village."

"I was planning on doing that anyways, but why?" Axle asked.

"…I doubt it will help," Rain said, "but…if I can figure out why Skyla was after that, what her motivations for going after Clover's Treasure was, then I might feel a little better. Or maybe not. I'm not really sure. But it's the only clues we really have to understand her right now."

Axle nodded, even though Rain couldn't see him do so. "You have my promise that we'll investigate that as soon as we recover," Axle said. "We should have something figured out by the time you get back."

Rain nodded back. "Thanks Axle," Rain said. "I'll…see you both later."

And that was the last thing Rain said before he rushed out of the room, not even waiting for a response from Axle or Eon.


	20. Her Story

The flower gathering ended in the late afternoon, when the sun was about to set and the end of the day was just around the corner, as the swarm of skaymin, all in their Sky Formes, founds a suitable field in the world to plan their gracadia seeds and grow a new flower field. Rain was in the middle of the cloud of shaymin, only really playing attention to the actions of the shaymin in front of him. He wasn't even really sure where in the world they were, an almost crime considering his normal job as an explorer. All he really saw around him was the white and green cloud of shaymin, the orange sky around them, and the pink petals flying in the wind. All he could feel was that wind pushing him through the air.

"Everyone down, we've got a place to land," Rain heard the message ring out in front of him by the various shaymin. He too yelled the message so that those behind him could hear it as well.

A few seconds later the storm of shaymin in front of Rain took a downward turn, so Rain did so as well. When they decided close enough to the ground, they all stopped their momentum by pushing up a bit so they could all hover over the ground. While they were hovering, the pink petals in the air all fell down to the ground, covering the normally green field in a layer of pink. Once all the shaymin were hovering over the ground and all the petals that they blew there finally made it to the ground, all the shaymin landed.

"Alright, good job you all!" the leader of the fliers, who was in the middle of the circle the shamyin made, said. "Now, let's inspect the place to make sure the petals all lined up correctly! For those of you new here, the petals all need to be in the shape of a flower! Make sure there's no grass peeking out on the middle! Let's hurry up and get this done before the sun sets and we're all back in our Land Forme!"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am," everyone else except for Rain yelled back to the leader of the fliers.

Rain could hear the sound of all the shaymin scattering off on their own but he himself didn't pay much attention to what was going on. He instead just looked at the pink ground in front of him, the many layers of petals popping out to him. Rain felt his senses leaving him as his tears started welling up again.

 _Nothing,_ Rain thought. _Still nothing. No matter how much I think about it, I still can't figure her out. I keep trying and trying but…_ Rain closed his eyes. _I thought flying through here would help but…I still can't figure things out. Who is Skyla? Who am I?_

"-ain?" a small voice asked.

Rain looked up to see a young shaymin, one a couple of inches smaller than him, looking up at him. Realizing his vulnerable position, Rain quickly wiped his more sorrowful face off for a quick smile. As he did that, he tried to identify who the shaymin in front of him was. It didn't take him long, around her neck was a red/pink patterned blanket being worn as a scarf easily identifying her to him. She was one of the kids that Skyla and the rest of the outlaws kidnapped. A shaymin girl named Fiora.

"Oh, hey Fiora," Rain said with as much cheer as he could muster. "So, how was your flight? I always consider the second flight to be much better than the first, since the first time we fly with the group, we're just born and not really sure about anything. So we just go with the flow. But the second time, you've got a better idea of what's happening so you can actually enjoy it."

Fiora smiled. "Yeah. It was really fun. Flying with all the shaymin, feeling the wind push me around, knowing that I was helping spread Gracedia flowers all over the world. It was great!"

Fiora looked down, sort of embarrassed. "So uhh…thanks for saving me. I really wanted to do this and I'm glad I got the chance."

Rain nodded. "I'm glad we managed to get you back. Sorry you got kidnapped. And for something so stupid as trying to get a treasure too. All for money. It was a cruel thing that they did to do and I'm sorry that it was done by a shaymin too."

"It's alright," Fiora said. "Skyla made sure we were fed and given water. She also made sure the outlaws weren't…too rough on us, though she was really scary sometimes herself."

"Fiora, Skyla was one of the outlaws," Rain said, though his voice wasn't really into it. "She wasn't any different."

"I wonder," Fiora said. "Yeah, she and the outlaws kidnapped us. And they were kinda rough and really scary when they did. But she was nicer to use then the rest of them. And…maybe it's just me, I dunno, but I think she was hiding something."

"What do you mean by, you think she was hiding something?" Rain asked.

"I dunno, it's just a feeling I got," Fiora explained. "She was always glaring at everyone else, but when she looked at us, she looked more sad than mad."

"You think Skyla was sad about something?" Rain mused, though he didn't like the thought of that. _What is up with you, Skyla?!_ Rain asked himself. _The more I learn about you, the less I understand you. What should I think?_

"I dunno," Fiora admitted. "Maybe she regretted kidnapping us or something?"

 _I don't want to tell her that, but that's probably not it,_ Rain thought. _Skyla was the one who suggested the idea in the first place. I don't think that's why she was crying. But then why?_

"Skyla was really important to you once, wasn't she?" Fiora asked. "You're crying right now."

Rain came to realization that tears were falling from his eyes, making his fur wet. The shaymin quickly whipped those tears off his face with a quick slash from his right foreleg, but he knew that he was compromised. The young shaymin kid in front of him, barely more than a decade old, has seen him cry.

"S-sorry," Rain said. "I just…have a lot of thoughts going in my head. There's a lot I need to think about. But…yes. Skyla was important to me once. Like, think about how close your parents are, and Skyla and I were almost even closer than that. That's why knowing that she hurt someone as young as you is so hard."

"I'm sorry," Fiora apologized.

Rain shook his head. "No…don't," he said. "It's not your fault. This is just adult stuff I need to worry about. You don't have to."

"Oh, alright," Fiora said. Her eyes widened suddenly with realization. "Oh yeah! Your name used to be Rainflower, right?"

Rain took a step back, surprised at hearing that name. "Y-yeah, it was," he said. "Why?"

"There's this Pokémon looking for you," Fiora said. "I think he called himself Sawsbuck. He kinda looked like us only much bigger, brown fur, horns, and flowers on those horns. Anyways, he asked for me to find the shamyin here called Rainflower. And that's you so…"

 _Hmm…a Sawsbuck?_ Rain thought. _Why would a Pokémon I've never heard of, let alone a species I've never heard of, be here? And using my old nickname, too. That's…strange._

"Where is he?" Rain asked.

Fiora pointed west towards the sun using her left paw. "He's over there," she said, "just at the edge of the flower petals."

"Alright, thanks," Rain said. "I'll go see him. You should be a good girl and go help settle down all of the petals with the rest of the shaymin."

After sending Fiora off, Rain flew towards his right, looking from the air for the specific Pokémon that the young girl was talking about. Eventually he found that Pokémon in the place Fiora was talking about, the brown deer-like Pokémon looking up into the air and watching the shaymin fly. Taking care to land outside the ring, Rain landed next to the Pokémon's right side.

"So…I heard you were looking for me?" Rain asked as he examined the Pokémon, an unconscious trait that he gained from Axle.

The Pokémon seemed a bit older to Rain, at least, a bit older for Pokémon. He had a world-weariness within his eyes as if he had seen a lot of life and not a lot of it was good. Yet, despite that, there was a level of sympathy within his eyes. If Rain had a guess, he had a couple of kids to him and possibly even grandkids that he took good care of. Beyond that, Rain couldn't figure much else about him. Nor why he would be seeking out Rain.

"Are you Rainflower?" the sawsbuck said in a deep voice.

"Yeah, that was me once," Rain said. "I'm not called that anymore. I go by Rain now. There's…a long story behind it that I really don't want to talk about."

Sawsbuck smiled. "Good. Then you are the one I am looking for. I was told 'The shaymin should be having a Flower Gathering happening near your home. Look for a shaymin who once called himself Rainflower but is now calling himself Rain. When you find him, tell him everything you know.'"

"'Tell me…everything you know?'" Rain asked.

Sawsbuck nodded. "You shaymin seem busy. And I'm sure you guys want to get done and go wherever you need to for your festival before the sun sets and you're unable to fly. But…if you look north from this field, you'll find a very small village, one with only a few houses. My house is the farthest one to the west of the village. Come see me tomorrow morning and I'll tell you everything."

Sawsbuck turned around, but Rain called out quickly before he left. "Wait! Just a second! What's this 'everything' you keep talking about?"

"…I want to talk to you about my grandmother," Sawsbuck said. "I want to talk about Skyla."

Those words completely stopped Rain in his tracks. He couldn't respond, couldn't move, couldn't do anything. All he could do was let those words, and the sheer impossibility of them, ring in his ears like a large bell was chimed right next to him. His breath came short and his vision tunneled and nearly blackened. Even though Sawsbuck was long gone by the time Rain could speak, he still yelled out exactly what was on his mind.

"How?!"

* * *

Rain did not get much sleep that night. There was no way he could. Every time he tried calming himself enough to reach the embrace of sleep, the myriad questions that haunted him from just one statement from a normal sawsbuck came back up and sleep evaded him once again. Rain wasn't even able to enjoy the first day of the Flower Festival because of that, as while all the other shaymin enjoyed themselves, Rain kept repeating the same quandaries about Skyla.

 _Out of all the things Skyla could have been…a grandmother?_ Rain asked himself. _But…how? And when? Why? What happened to you, Skyla?_

Yet, despite all the questions, Rain couldn't help feel a sort of excitement. Unless the sawsbuck was lying to him, which Rain didn't get from Sawsbuck's expression (though he wished Axle was here to tell him for sure), Rain was about to find out information on Skyla. He had been yearning for it since he realized she was alive, and it was now within his grasp.

So, when the morning came, despite how tired Rain felt and how much his eyes burned from exhaustion, Rain found the nearest Gracedia flower, left a note explaining where he was going, and flew off from the ground where the shaymin were having their festival. He flew southwest to the field and, once he saw the pink petals in the shape of a large Gracedia that went 10 yards from the center, he turned around and went north. A couple of minutes later, he saw the first buildings of a small village up to the north.

The huts were all brown and, from shaymin's vantage point, they were made from wood. They all also had straw for the roofs, likely on top of more wood as a decertation decision. Between the houses there was a dirt path lined with a fence in front of the houses and flowers on the paths in between. In the center of town there was a decently large tree surrounded by flowers which were all surrounded by another white fence.

Rain looked through the many houses of the village, searching for the specific one that Sawsbuck told him about. As every house essentially looked the same, it wasn't easy. He eventually found at least a possibility to which house it is, as it was the farthest one to the left of his vantage point, so he flew over to that house. Rain landed on its front, where the house was open to the elements, and looked in.

"Hey Sawsbuck, are you there?!" Rain called into the house. "It's me, Rain."

"…Come in," Rain heard Sawsbuck's voice say from the inside of the house. So, Rain walked in.

The inside of the room was circular and had a table in the middle of it. At the edge of the room there were doors to three other rooms, one of which Rain could see lead to a kitchen. From a first look, Rain couldn't see Sawsbuck, but a picture along the left wall did catch his attention due to how colors of it contrasted to the brown walls. So the shaymin walked over to the wall to look at that picture.

The picture involved five different Pokémon all standing atop a hill that gave a view of a small village behind it. Rain knew that the village wasn't this one, as the houses in the distance were more colorful and this village didn't have any elevation anywhere that would allow for a hill overlooking it. As for the Pokémon, Rain didn't recognize any of them. They weren't all completely alien to him; one of the Pokémon looked like Eon only with yellow fur instead of brown, a large amount of white fur around their muzzle instead of the white ruff Eon had around her neck. But Rain still couldn't guess on any of their species.

"Ah, looking at that picture, are you?"

Rain turned around to see Sawsbuck looking behind him. "Who are those Pokémon in the picture?" Rain asked as soon as he saw the Normal/Grass-Type.

"My granddaughter is about to start school," Sawsbuck said. "Those are to be her classmates when she starts." He pointed a hoof towards various Pokémon on the picture.

First, he pointed at the panda-like Pokémon who was looking prideful in it. "That's Pancham. He's got a bit of a head on him, but apparently looks up to my granddaughter." Next he pointed at a pink bipedal cat-like Pokémon who kept their ears against their head. "That's Espurr. She's the oldest and has already been at that school for a year. My granddaughter says she's also quiet." The gray-shelled Pokémon. "That's Shelmet. My granddaughter doesn't have much nice to say about him. From what I've heard he and Pancham are two peas in a pod." The fox-like Pokémon that reminded Rain of Eon. "That's a fennekin. She's mischievous and gets in a lot of trouble. My granddaughter doesn't hate her, but I've heard that the fennekin gets her in a lot of trouble too. She also uses her familial name and insists others do so to, despite that not being culturally acceptable in that village."

"And the pink deer-like Pokémon?" Rain asked before Sawsbuck could point there. "That's your granddaughter?"

"Yes, Deerling," Sawsbuck said. "In her spring coat actually. A deerling's colors will change depending on the season, pink for spring, green for summer, orange for fall, and gray for winter."

"So, this must have been taken recently, then?" Rain asked.

"Yes, my son and daughter-in-law visited here with her just a couple weeks ago," Sawsbuck said with a nod. "It was a nice time. I was glad to see her again. She's still very young, but I can see her already growing into a strong, independent girl. But…I suppose you're not here to talk about my family. At least, not the younger generation."

Rain nodded. "Yeah, sorry," he said. "Listening about your granddaughter is interesting but…well…"

"I understand," Sawsbuck said. "Come with me."

Sawsbuck lead Rain into the room to the left. As Rain walked in, he first noticed the large white bed with a blanket that had pictures of deerling in their four forms all over the blanket. The fact that there was a bed there, and honest to goodness bed, surprised Rain first off, as beds in that style aren't exactly common in the world. Most beds are just straw bundled together, not a mattress surrounded by a wooden frame with a blanket and pillow on it. Though, as Rain continued to look around the room, more came to surprise him.

There were four pictures on the left and right side of the room. One of them, the first on the left side of the room, was a crude drawing of a shaymin in their Sky Forme along with a deerling wearing their summer coat. Another, the first on the right side of the room, was an actual picture of the two of them, both of them smiling brightly in the photo to the point it was blinding. The final one on the left seemed to be that shaymin standing in between two sawsbuck who were both looking at each other with love in their eyes. The shaymin herself was smiling once again, smiling like a mother would seeing her child all grown up. The final on the right was that shaymin playing around with a spring-coat deerling while the two sawsbuck watched on from the background. As Rain looked on those photos, he knew exactly who the shaymin was without even thinking about it. That shamyin in all those photos was Skyla.

"Wha…who…what?!" Rain asked.

"Ah yes, those pictures," Sawsbuck said. "I've seen those pictures so many times. They were once such happy pictures."

"So then…what are they?" Rain asked.

"…The first two are pictures of my father and grandmother," Sawsbuck said. "The third one you saw had my parents and the final one was when I was only a few years old."

Rain took it all in. He was silent as he did so and it felt like the entire world around him stopped as well. There were a number of questions that rang around his head, but he didn't know which to start. In fact, his mind wouldn't even let him settle on one question to ask. They were so numerous that it almost felt like he was thinking nothing.

So Sawsbuck took the first step. "Would you like to hear her story?" Sawsbuck asked. "I'm sure that will help you gather your thoughts."

Rain turned to face him. "That would be nice," the shaymin said breathlessly.

Sawsbuck looked up to the first picture that Rain looked at. "My father has told me this story a number of times, with Skyla collaborating with him. So it's something I know very well. But first…tell me something. I assume from your perspective; Skyla had been missing for a while. So tell me, do you remember the night she disappeared."

Rain nodded. "Crystal clear. It was one of the worst nights of my life."

* * *

 _Rainflower and Skyla were both standing in the center square of Shaymin Village, both in their Sky Forme and holding bags filled with Gracedia Flowers at their side, looking up into the sky as large dark clouds started rolling on. Rainflower nearly cowered back at how oppressive those clouds looked and how the field they were standing in became dark as if it were suddenly night when the clouds passed through. When Skyla saw that, she whistled._

" _Well, that looks fun," she said. "Heh, they say the first snowfall is always the worst."_

" _D-do you know how bad it's going to be?" Rainflower asked, looking up at her._

" _Not a clue," Skyla said nonchalantly. "I'm not in charge of checking the weather around here. But we should know pretty quickly."_

" _Y-yeah, you're right," Rainflower said, trying to calm himself. "If it's bad, Cumulus would warn us. But if he hasn't, then it must not be that bad, right?"_

" _Wouldn't be too sure on that, Rainflower," the shaymin heard from behind him, causing him to jump to the other side of Skyla. Skyla just laughed when she saw Rainflower do that._

" _Was that necessary, Cumulus?" Skyla turned around and asked the Sky Forme shaymin behind her._

" _Sorry, I had to," Cumulus said with a laugh. "Still didn't get you, though. Oh well."_

 _Skyla rolled her eyes. "That's beside the point. So, what's the weather looking like?"_

" _I'm about to send the call to everyone else, but I might as well tell you guys first," Cumulus said. "You might want to get indoors and stay there. The snowstorm is really large and is going to hit hard tonight. I've heard it's dropped a lot of snow on the western regions and is still doing that even now. I suspect we're going to get dumped on by a massive blizzard. Get inside quickly and stay inside until the Psychic's clear out all the snow."_

" _A-alright, thanks," Rainflower said._

 _Cumulus took off to warn the rest of the shaymin in the village, leaving Rainflower and Skyla alone to their thoughts. Rainflower looked to the sky once again with fear heavy in his heart. He normally hated the cold, but having so much snow around was even worse. After looking at the sky, he looked back to Skyla._

" _W-we should probably get inside then, right?" Rainflower asked._

" _Aw man, and I really wanted to go for a fly before the night came," Skyla pouted._

" _Sorry, Skyla, but we should really get inside before the snowstorm hits," Rainflower said. "Let's just go."_

 _Skyla looked up into the sky. "…You go on ahead," she said. "I just want to take one quickly flight before the snow hits. They said it will happen at nightfall, so if I'm quick, I should be good."_

" _But Skyla…" Rainflower started, but Skyla shook her head and smiled._

" _I'll be fine," Skyla said. "Don't worry. Keep the house warm and I'll be back soon."_

 _Rainflower looked down. He didn't really like that idea, wanted Skyla to come with him inside before it was too late, but he knew convincing Skyla of anything was a futile endeavor. So Rainflower nodded and let him go with his own smile, though it was a half-hearted one that the shaymin didn't feel was convincing. Skyla didn't mention anything about his smile, and instead, with one last smile towards Rainflower, she leapt into the air to go on her quick flight._

* * *

"That's the last I saw of her," Rainflower said. "She never came back that night before the snowstorm hit."

"I figured just about as much," Sawsbuck said. "That's about consistent with what I heard as well. Alright…now about my father and Skyla…"

"From what Skyla told me, she decided to patrol around Sky Peak that night," Sawsbuck started. "While she was flying around and enjoying herself, she noticed something off about the mountain. There was an unusual object lying there on the mountain. Skyla's curiosity took hold of her, so she flew over to the object to investigate it for a second. There, she figured out quickly what it was. Sitting there on the side of the mountain was a lone egg."

"She found an egg on the side of the mountain?" Rain asked. "How or why was there a random egg on the side of the mountain?"

"Skyla wanted to figure that out herself," Sawsbuck said. "According to her, she grew angry when she saw the egg abandoned. She immediately looked around to find out where that egg came from. By her own words this was something that possessed her. She didn't even know what species the egg was, but she still tried looking around for whoever she could find. It was a nice gesture but…"

"There was a blizzard coming," Rain stated.

Sawsbuck nodded. "When her senses caught up to her, she realized she wasn't on Sky Peak anymore, she didn't even know exactly where she was, she was holding an egg, and the winds were starting to pick up. Skyla was forced to find some cave to stow away in and cover for the night while the storm passed. There she cuddled up to the egg to keep it warm. And, during that night when she was sharing her body heat with the egg, it hatched."

"It hatched into your father, right?" Rain asked.

"That's correct," Sawsbuck said. "My father was born, not with his parents, but in a random cave cuddled by a Pokémon not even of his species. Skyla was indignant about that fact, but that night also formed a bond between the two as they cuddled together."

Sawsbuck paused a moment before continuing. "When Skyla was able to leave that cave, she had a mission. Figure out who abandoned that child and knock some sense into him. I believe Shaymin Village was inaccessible at the time?" Rain nodded in conformation, letting Sawsbuck continue. "So Skyla decided to search elsewhere. She heard of a village somewhere to the west and though that if she searched there, she might find some answers."

Rain looked into the air with thought. "According to Eon, Treasure Town wouldn't have existed back then, so the village wouldn't have been that. It would have been one of the first exploration outposts early on. I'm not really sure, though, as I was too timid back then to even interact with any of the explorers that came by Sky Peak. Maybe I'll ask her about that later."

"Eon?" Sawsbuck asked.

Rain looked back at the Grass/Normal-Type in realization. "Oh, sorry," he apologized. "Eon's an eevee and a friend of mine. She's also really interested in history and the past. So, whenever I want to know something in the past, I ask her."

Sawsbuck took a deep breath. "Alright. Sorry for diverting, I was just curious."

Rain opened his mouth to question that, but he quickly closed it. He thought, since Sawsbuck never mentioned anything other than his species name and his reaction to the fennekin girl, he might expect Pokémon to be referred by their species name more than a nickname, Skyla being the sole exception. It was just a guess, Rain admitted, but he was more concerned with continuing Skyla's story over a small detail like that.

"Anyways, when Skyla went to that town with my father, she found that nobody knew what species he even was, let alone where his actual parents are," Sawsbuck continued. "She looked high and low for information, but none could be found. She spent a few days in that town, according to her, and got no clues. At least, until one day she met this Pokémon who mentioned something."

"'This Pokémon'?" Rain asked, noting the vagueness of that wording.

"It was a species Skyla didn't know of," Sawsbuck mentioned. "So she wasn't able to relay which species it was to me. I know they were a Water-Type, but that's all I know. They were someone who just come back from exploring overseas and they mentioned Pokémon who looked like my father in a continent somewhere to the northwest. Skyla, seeing this as an opportunity to find out where my father came from, and knowing that my father was still small enough for her to fly him long distances, took my father across the sea to the place that was indicated. She made it there just fine, and immediately went across the region with my father to search for his parents."

"That must have been a long trip, searching an entire continent," Rain said. "Skyla's the type that doesn't give up on something no matter what. So she would go as far as possible to help your father."

"Yes, and it took a few years," Sawsbuck said. "She did find a family of deerling and sawsbuck, so she at least learned how to take care of my father during his early years, but with that knowledge she took care of her while working to find his true parents. She spent a few years trying and trying to find some sort of clue, but to no avail. And by the time she realized that there was no clue on that continent, my father was too large for her to be carrying around."

Rain can to a realization on those words. "So…even if Skyla wanted to return back to Shaymin Village, she couldn't," he said. "She was forced onto a strange continent with a kid and no way to come back. That's why I never saw her again. I never saw her because she couldn't come back."

Sawsbuck nodded. "Skyla was at the end of the line. She only had one option left to her. So, she found a nice quiet village that was accepting to her when she first visited it, and had other deerling and sawsbuck in it, and decided to live there with my father. From that day, Skyla became my father's mother, and he became her son. And as for the village, well, you're standing in it right now. In the very same house Skyla bought for her family."

"So…that it," Rain said breathlessly as he took another look around the room. _That's why Skyla wasn't able to come back. That's what she was doing the entire time. While I was in Shaymin Village worrying about her…Skyla was here taking care of a child._

"As for the details of what happened while Skyla was taking care of my father…" Sawsbuck said from out of Rain's right ear, prompting him to look in the direction of the Pokémon. Rain saw that Sawsbuck was pulling out a drawer and grabbing a book. He walked back to Rain's location and dropped the book in front of him. "…Here is Skyla's diary. It will tell you everything that happened while Skyla was taking care of my father. There are many thing that happened, and I think it'd be better if you read them from Skyla's words then my own."

"Are you sure I should take this?" Rain asked. "Doesn't this belong to your family?"

"I feel you deserve that diary more than me," Sawsbuck said. "You were Skyla's mate after all, if what I've heard is correct. Besides, it's become…difficult as of late for me to read."

Sawsbuck looked in the direction of where the photo of his granddaughter was hanging. "However, if you're really that worried, then perhaps someday you can return the diary to my granddaughter. She might not care much about her great-grandfather or his mother, but it would be a way for her to know where her ancestry comes from. At least, as far back as we're able to look at it. But only do that if she's interested."

"How will I know that?" Rain asked.

"I suspect you'll find out somehow," Sawsbuck said. "Even if not by blood or even by inheritance, by me mentioning this story to you, you and my granddaughter are connected. I'm sure you'll find out somehow."

Rain had to admit that he was right. While he knew very little about the deerling, after hearing about her family and Skyla's connection, a part of him wanted to know more. Not now, as he was too busy, but perhaps sometime later.

There was one final question Rain wanted to ask him, but he could already tell that this would be a painful question. "So…this all sounds well and good. Skyla sounds just how I know her, biting off more than she can chew constantly, yet still having a big heart. And I can guess that Skyla was happy and your family seemed to be happy with her. But…what happened. B-because…"

Rain flinched as the words flew from his mouth. "The Skyla I know now is much different. The Skyla now is a kidnapper and she attempted to murder my friends. When I think of the Skyla I know now and the Skyla you mentioned, they sound like two different Pokémon." Rain flinched once again. "I'm…sorry for saying this about your dear grandmother but…"

"So that's what she's in jail for, then," Sawsbuck said.

Rain was taken aback by the calmness of what Sawsbuck just said. Here he was, saying that his grandmother, who had lots of happy times with his family, was now a kidnapper and attempted murderer, and yet Sawsbuck didn't look surprised at all. He looked as if Rain announced the weather of all things, not that this was a terrible truth.

"Y-you're really calm for me saying this," Rain mentioned his thoughts.

"…I've told you the first part of the story," Sawsbuck said. "I've told you what happened to Skyla when she disappeared from your perspective. But there's more to it than that. After all, the happy times couldn't last forever."

"I suppose I should have known," Rain said. "I'm not my friend Axle. He's much better at detecting the emotions of others and figuring what they were thinking. But even I can tell there's some pain in your life. Something happened. So…are you willing to dredge up painful memories."

"Normally, I wouldn't be," Sawsbuck admitted in his usual strong voice. "I have better things to do than divulge family secrets, especially painful ones, to a random stranger. But, as you were and still are connected to Skyla, then yes, I will tell you. Be warned, though, this isn't nearly as happy as Skyla's adoption of my father."

Sawsbuck took a deep breath before he began the second part of the story. "Forgive me for any contempt you may here in my voice," he started. "While Skyla was able to take care of my father, give him the chance to grow up and even start a family of our own, she was still different. The ravages of time did not affect her as it affected the rest of us. While my father grew older and older, while I was growing up, Skyla remained stagnant. We are fluid while Skyla is static. That difference became more and more evident as time went on. While my father's coat grayed over the years and fatigue reached him, Skyla's coat remained vibrant and she kept her energy over the years."

Rain didn't need any more information to realize what happened. "It's funny," Rain said. "We're warned when we're children to be careful when interacting with other Pokémon. We can live thousands of years but most Pokémon are lucky if they can pass 100. But Skyla's the type not really to listen to that, especially when she's taking care of someone."

"Is it worse for you shaymin when someone dies than it is for us?" Sawsbuck asked.

Rain shrugged. "It…depends on the shaymin," he admitted. "When I thought I lose Skyla, I was devastated. I lost myself for a long time. I was only able to get past it by deciding that I would live a life I felt Skyla wanted me to live. And even then, that wasn't perfect. It isn't helping me now."

Rain realized his head was held low and he was beating himself up, so he quickly shook his head and looked back up Sawsbuck. "Anyways, what's difficult is not just the fact that we lost a loved one. It's also that we know we're going to live many years without them. It's possible we might even forget them with the passage of time. If we don't, the rest of the world definitely will. And there's nothing scarier than that. The thought that, in time, you'll forget about someone who you loved. Not only are they gone, but the memory too. And how is that fair…" Rain quickly stopped, realizing what he was just about to say.

"I understand," Sawsbuck said. "That puts some things into perspective. Skyla was devastated when my father died. She was inconsolable. But that was only the first event in a list of things that happened."

"Around that time, I had myself a mate and two children," Sawsbuck continued. "My son was a nice boy. While he could be a bit…strange at times and had the oddest non-sequiturs, he was nice, respectful, and full of life. Though he was also a bit timid as a child. My daughter though…"

"She wanted to make a name for herself. She hated living in such a small village where nothing happened. She had so much ambition in her that she really couldn't be contained in this small place. I wasn't against that; I didn't mind if my daughter wanted to leave this village and make a name for herself. No, my problems were with the friend group she made. She made a couple of friends, two of them I remember quite well. A pansage and a skiddo."

"A…pansage and skiddo?" Rain asked. "What are those Pokémon?"

"They're both Grass-types," Sawsbuck explained. "They're not too common exactly, but we had one family of each here. One of them looks like a simian and the other looks like a goat."

Rain took a step back. "…Would they…happen to evolve into Simisage and Gogoat?" Rain asked.

"Yes, they would," Sawsbuck said, "though they never did while they were hanging around my daughter. Those two…they were downright terrible. They shared my daughter's ambition to escape from this village, but they were worse at it. They had a superiority complex and wanted everyone at the school to know that as well. And they did so through any means necessary. My son was constantly bullied by the three of them, his own sister and her friends. They did it all to make him subservient them. I'm not sure exactly what they did, but I know the result. My son and daughter couldn't speak with each other and my family was slowly being torn apart."

"Then…my mate died," Sawsbuck said, his normally neutral face finally showing pain for the first time in this conversation. "She tried keeping this family together. She tried as hard as she could. She overworked herself trying to work out those two's problems. It became too much for her. She always had a frail composition and her heart couldn't take the strain. After a few years of stress, she had a heart attack and died."

Rain gasped when he heard that. "I'm…I'm so sorry," he said. "I…I should have known, or should have guessed. I didn't mean…"

Sawsbuck shook his head. "Don't apologize. None of this was your fault and I'm not blaming you for dredging it back up. It's…something that I think of every once in a while."

"So…are you able to continue then?" Rain asked.

"I have to," Sawsbuck said. He took a deep breath to control himself before continuing. "My mate's death was the straw that broke the camarupt's back, so to say. The rift that was starting to form in my family broke into two. My son, after having been passive for three years, took all his anger out on my daughter and challenged her to a battle. A battle he won. My daughter was angry and, with her friends, she decided to leave the village and start a new life where she can live a life of fame and importance. And my son, being embarrassed and having painful memories of this place, decided to strike it out on his own in a small village to the west of here."

Sawsbuck looked back at Rain. "As for the what happened to Skyla, after having two deaths in her family and watching her family fall apart, she decided to follow my daughter. She stated it was because she wanted to keep her out of trouble. That was the last I saw of my grandmother."

Rain looked down to the floor. "So…that's what happened," Rain said in a sorrowful voice. "I…I can't believe it but…two of the outlaws that were with Skyla were a gogoat and simisage. The evolutions of your daughter's friends."

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," Sawsbuck said. "I apologize, though. I don't know anything about Skyla after she left. The fact that she was with a gogoat and simisage is an interesting link but…in all honesty it could be the same, it could not be. But you mentioned a gogoat and simisage, but not a sawsbuck or deerling. In fact, you didn't recognize the species of either me or my granddaughter when you saw us, so I doubt you saw her."

"You're right," Rain said with a sigh. "I don't know about what happened to your daughter. She wasn't there with Skyla and the outlaws, nor was she at the base they had where all the shaymin were being held. I'm sorry."

"I…guess I shouldn't have expected to you to know," Sawsbuck said. "When my daughter left, she cut herself out from my family. As sad as it is to say, what happened to her is no longer any of my business. I wish it were otherwise but…if she did get herself killed in the criminal underground…then that's where her ambitions lead her."

Rain gasped. "You…you really think that? And that doesn't bother you?!"

Sawsbuck sighed. "'Doesn't bother me?' That's far from the truth. I hate the very thought!" Rain was taken aback by Sawsbuck raising his voice. "But…there have been so many situations outside of my control. I have lived a long and turbulent life. If I could have it, I would love more than anything to reconcile with my daughter and for the fragments of my family to form back together. But my grandmother is in jail and my daughter is missing. I have nothing to do but expect the worst."

"This…things really are that bad, aren't they?" Rain asked.

Sawsbuck took another deep breath before leaving Skyla's room. Rain quickly followed after him to see him looking back up to the picture of his daughter and her classmates. Rain walked up to his side and looked at that picture as well.

"There is one good thing in my life," Sawsbuck said. "My granddaughter. She's so full of life and has a heart of gold on her. I here she's constantly protecting a younger kid from bullies, a Goomy if I remember hearing right. When I hear that, it allows me to smile once again. And when she comes to visit, I feel a bit of life left in these old bones. It's a little thing, but it's enough."

"M... I've learned a lot today," Rain said. "A lot about what has happened to Skyla. There's still a lot I don't understand about her, but I know a lot more now than I did before. But…may I ask one more question."

"Hmm…you've never hesitated to ask before, so why now?" Sawsbuck asked.

"Well…this might not be culturally acceptable but…your daughter's familial name. Is it Sakura?"

Sawsbuck looked at Rain in surprise. "Yes, it was. Skyla recommended me that name. It was apparently something my father would have named me if I was a girl. It's supposed to symbolize both the transcendence of life and kindness. She was named because we wanted her to be as beautiful as the Cheri Blossoms she was named after." Sawsbuck gave a depressed moan. "I guess she didn't manage to keep that namesake.

Rain sighed. "T-thanks," he said, the connections forming in his head. "That's all I need from you. Thank you so much."

"Also my father, his name was Mallow," Sawsbuck mentioned. "You'll soon see that in that book, so I suppose there's no point in keeping it away from you."

"Really?" Rain asked. "Interesting."

"I know, it's uncommon for an adopted kid to have a familial name," Sawsbuck said. "But my grandmother wanted to give one to him regardless."

"Thanks for telling me all this information," Rain said once again. "It's really helping me understand what Skyla went through."

"I'm not exactly sure I'd say 'I'm happy to help' but, in a way, I'm glad you know now," Sawsbuck said. "It lifted a weight of my chest, knowing that someone else knows about the truth of my family."

Rain, feeling awkward about saying this, said, "Well…I think I've taken enough of your time. Besides, I'm sure the other shaymin are starting to worry about me. So…I'll see you later."

Before Rain could turn around to leave, though, Sawsbuck had one last thing to say. "Before you go to visit my grandmother, I'd recommend you have one thing in mind," he said. "You said you're friends with an eevee, right? And I'm guessing this 'Axle' is also not a Mythical Pokémon. You will probably outlive the both of them. So…what's going to make your situation any different than my grandmother's when that time comes? That will be the only thing that can possibly help my grandmother."


	21. One Last Chat

Rain walked into the damp darkness and gray walls where he heard the noises of moves banging against the sturdy bars and the groans of the damned. He had to steel himself while walking down lower and lower into the depths and even then, he couldn't stop the chill from crawling down his spine. This was the last place the shaymin really wanted to be, but he had to be here. The prison where Skyla was being held.

Rain was being escorted by two magneton guards, who were slightly behind him on both his sides. They were there to either protect the inmates or protect Rain depending on whether Rain was there to get revenge on the inmates or the inmates on Rain. The shaymin wondered the frequency of that situation that would necessitate this. He was especially annoyed at the escort since he had something extremely personal he wanted to talk to his former mate with.

"Is there any worry of the outlaws escaping?" Rain asked.

"BZZT These bars are designed to repel all attacks from all the elements, both physical and special," the magneton guard on Rain's right said. "It is rare for constant attacks to be able to wear them down. We're not even sure why or what these bars are made of. We just found this prison and, after testing to make sure they are impervious, decided to use it to contain outlaws BZZT."

"BZZT This prison almost seems specifically designed to contain Pokémon BZZT," the other magneton, the one on Rain's left, said.

 _Hmm…even a Mythical Pokémon?_ Rain asked. _I don't know about that. But…I suppose for now it doesn't really matter._

Rain continued downward into the depths of the abyss for what felt like miles even though it was probably a few yards next. It went on…and on…and on past hundreds of cells. Eventually, the magneton on his left pointed at a cell to Rain's left. Rain looked between the bars and saw, lying there on badly made straw bad being their only protection from the cold floors, in her Land Forme for one of the few times ever, was Skyla.

"BZZT Prisoner, you have a visitor BZZT," the Magneton said loud enough to stir the shaymin.

"Can't I just rot in jail in peace?" Skyla complained as she woke up. She eventually looked from in between the bars and saw that it was Rain. "Oh…it's you," Skyla said.

Rain looked at both the magneton around him. "May we please speak in private?" Rain asked. "I know you're worried about me attacking her or the opposite, but you don't have to. At your own admission, these bars are impervious to attacks and I'll talk outside of them."

"It's still possible to attack through them," one magneton mentioned.

"She was also once my mate," Rain said. "So I'm not going to attack her and I can take care of myself in case she decided to attack me. So, can you please trust me on this, at least this once?"

"I've got better things to do than attack him and he doesn't have the bones to attack me," Skyla said. "So you've got nothing to worry about."

The two magneton looked at each other for a couple of seconds, sparks flying between them to allow them non-verbal communication. They eventually nodded to each other and looked back at Rain. The magneton on the left spoke first.

"BZZT Your team does have a good reputation, so we will allow this favor just once. However, do not betray our trust or you will be getting your own cell very soon BZZT."

The two magneton both left, giving Rain the space he needed to talk to Skyla.

"Is it…really that common for someone to come in and attack for them to worry this much about it?" Rain asked Skyla as he watched the magneton leave.

"I've been here for less than a week," Skyla said. "Heck if I know. Maybe some stupid event happened some time ago, I'm not sure. We outlaws can't really be trusted and we can do some stupid things. So, it wouldn't surprise me if it's needed. But that's beside the point."

Skyla got out of her bed and walked as close to Rain as she could. "What do you want?" she asked sharply.

"I uhh…spoke with your grandson recently," Rain said. "He…told me most of what happened to you while we were gone."

"Good," Skyla interrupted. "If you said all, then you would be wrong. Even if you talked to my grandson, you'd hardly know everything about me. Heck, my grandson doesn't even know everything. You still don't know everything."

"Y-yeah, you're right," Rain admitted. "So, I want to ask. What exactly…happened to Sakura? I mean, you followed her, but I never saw her so…"

"None. Of. Your. Business," Skyla said.

Rain closed his eyes and sighed, expecting to get some sort of reaction like this. "Maybe it's not mine exactly," Rain admitted. "But I'm sure your grandson would also like to know."

"If he really does…" Skyla paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "Then it'd be better if I tell him in person. I'm the one who made myself responsible for her, so I'm the one who should tell him what happened."

"I…guess you're right," Rain admitted.

"Is that all you came here for?" Skyla asked. "Because if so, leave. Now."

"No, that's not," Rain said. "I also…want to thank you. If you didn't send that letter to your grandson, then I'd still be wandering around, wondering exactly what happened to you when you left."

"Pfft, I'm sure you'd figure it out eventually," Skyla said. "You guys apparently have a knack for sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong."

"Also, thanks for telling the officers right away where the kids were," Rain continued. "Thanks to that, Fiora was able to fly in this year's Flower Gathering and could enjoy the festival. She looked really happy being able to do that."

"Well isn't that good for her," Skyla said.

"…You know, for how harsh you're trying to sound right now, I don't really believe that's how you are completely," Rain said. "I think there's still good in you. You might not act like it, but I think it's still there. You didn't have to tell the police where the kids were like you did. You didn't have to ask your grandson to talk to me. But you did."

"Don't act like I'm some sort of hero," Skyla said. "I was going to jail anyways, so it's not like I had any reason not to tell them where the kids were. Plus they were probably going to torture it out of me anyways, so I just saved them and myself some time. Same with sending you to my grandson; saves me your constant visits asking me about it. That way I can just rot here in peace. Which I'd like to do if you'll be so kind as to leave."

"No…I still think it's there," Rain said sadly. "And well…that leads to the third thing I want to say. It's not an easy thing to say but…well…"

Rain closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry!" the shaymin called out.

"Sorry?" Skyla questioned.

"Sawsbuck gave me your diary," Rain explained. "And I…read a moment in that diary. You had a dream one night. A dream where I somehow found you after all these years and joined you in raising Mallow. I…stopped reading when I read those words. And I had to come here to say something. I…I'm sorry. When everyone else thought you died, I didn't. But I didn't do anything about it. I-I was such a wimp, such a coward. I can understand if you hate me because of that. If I tried looking around, tried asking some Pokémon, maybe went to that western town and asked around there, I could have found you. I could have made your dream come true. And…maybe I could have changed something. Comforted you when Mallow died. Stopped your family from splitting apart."

"No, you couldn't have," Skyla interrupted sharply.

Rain took a step back. "W-what?"

Skyla took a deep breath before continuing. "Yes, there was a time when I wanted you to join me in raising Mallow. But no, after everything that happened, I stopped wishing that. You want to know why? You would change nothing. Say you did manage to come and find me? What would you have accomplished? You would have been just as stricken with grief as I was at Mallow's death. While we were grieving together, my family would have split apart anyways. And when that happened…you would have gone with my great-grandson while I would have went the same path I did before. We would have did so to protect both of them and hope to bring them together again, a failed hope."

"But Skyla," Rain called out, but Skyla shook her head.

"You want to know something?" Skyla said. "Nowadays, especially after seeing you again, I'm glad you didn't come and see me. I…heard from the kids that you finally managed to become a tour guild since I left. During your first job you got two good friends. And then you became an explorer to follow those two friends. Rain, you've really grown a lot stronger since I last met you. Strong enough to face up against me. I…hate you so much for dragging me in her but…I guess the last remnants of the Skyla you knew is proud. Proud to see how strong you've grown. You're not the wimp I left behind."

"Then…would you mind finally telling me why?" Rain asked. "Why did you kidnap that shaymin kids? What was the point of finding Clover's treasure? Can you tell me everything finally?"

Skyla scoffed. "You've grown stronger…but you're still so naïve. What makes you think an outlaw like me is going to talk to you, the one who captured me, about anything? What makes you think I would even bother? I think I've told you a number of times, we have changed in the years we've spent apart. So…you need to let me go. Just…stop already."

"You're right…in that way," Rain said. "Our past history…my motivations for living how I was…I need to let those go. I need to figure out who I am. Who Rain is."

"Here's a good place to start," Skyla said. "You still haven't answered my question. Your friends nearly died several times. And you know they're going to die sometime soon. They're lives are nothing compared to ours. So what are you going to do then? What are you doing to do years from now when nobody remembers them? You're going to forget them. It's not a question of will, it's a question of when."

"No, I won't," Rain said.

Skyla looked up at him, surprised. "What?!"

Rain smiled. "Since I met Axle and Eon, we've done so many things. Explored some amazing and mind-blowing places. I've made so many memories with those two and I plan on making more. And that's the thing. We're so afraid of loving someone, losing them, and forgetting they ever exist. The grief comes from both losing them, knowing we're going to live generations without them, and the possibility exists that we're going to forget them. But I know I'm not. Those memories, they're going to keep me going for a long time. I'll grieve for them when they're gone, obviously, but after that I'm going to make sure no one ever forgets those two, including myself."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Skyla asked. "After nearly a thousand years, can you really say you'll still remember them?

"After everything is over, I'm going to tell everyone about my friends," Rain said. "It's something that Eon did herself once. I'll make sure that I repeat my adventures with Axle and Eon to anyone and everyone that can hear me. That way, I won't forget them. I'll write it down even to help me. Also, that means their legacy will live on for generations to come. And in that way, they'll live on as well. Their spirits will live on for generations to come. With that…I'm fine with knowing them and outliving them."

Rain nodded. "And I told you before. It doesn't really matter to me. One day, sure, Axle and Eon will be gone. And the memory of them might be lost as well. But the same will happen to me one day. We're not immortal, Skyla. One day I'll be gone and memory of the shaymin, Rain, will be gone too. But…I'm fine with that. My actions here, even if not remembered, will ripple into the future. My life, my virtues, they'll soar across time even when I'm not gone. And with any luck, those ripples will create a better future. Believing in that really helps me feel better."

"Yeah, that sounds good on paper, but…" Skyla started, but Rain stopped her by shaking his head.

"Even what you did," Rain said with a smile. "When you saved Mallow, it did something amazing in the future. Your grandson has his own granddaughter. I haven't met her, but from what I heard from Sawsbuck, she's a really great Pokémon. She protects this younger kid from bullies in her hometown. She might not know you, but she wouldn't be there right now if you didn't save Mallow. One small action, Skyla, and you've changed the future for the better. I hope to do the same myself."

Skyla paused, the strength of Rain's words and her conviction hitting her. And, after a while, she did something that Rain never expected her to do. Skyla, who was once his mate now turned into a cold bitter outlaw, scarred from her experiences in the world, smiled. It wasn't an amused or mocking smile either. It was a completely genuine smile, like the ones she used to give him hundreds of years ago.

"Hmm…maybe I was wrong then," she said. "Maybe things would have changed had you been there. You never know." As quickly as it came, though, Skyla's smile died. "But…it's too late now. I've resigned myself to my fate. And my fate is to lie here, rotting for my crimes. That's where my life has lead me. This is what I've accepted."

Rain paused. Racking his brains, he thought long and hard for a couple seconds, knowing that this would be the last thing he was allowed to say. It took him a while, but he eventually came to the final words he had to say.

"…Those crimes are unforgivable, yes," Rain said. "My friends, Axle and Eon, I don't think either of them will forgive you for what happened. But as for me…I don't hate you. I went on this journey wanting to understand you. At first, it was out of desperation. I wanted to understand you because I thought I needed it to understand myself. But now…I realize fully that I need to find myself without you. I said before that I'm letting go of our shared history and it being a motivator for how I was living. But…I still want to understand you. And that's what I won't let go."

Rain pulled out the diary. "I'll keep reading this," Rain said. "It'll help me understand all the feelings you went through as you adopted Mallow. And I'll keep going. Axle and Eon…right now they should be using those clues you found to try and find Clover's Treasure. I want to find that treasure…because it's my last clue to truly understanding you."

"You're strange in many ways," Skyla said. "But…I suppose that's a good thing. …Hey Rainflower? Thank you for coming today. I'm glad I got to have once last chance to talk with you."

Rain nodded. "You're welcome, Skyla." Rain turned around to walk away. "We live very long lives," Rain said. "I don't know your sentence here, but I'm sure you'll live it out in time. And when you do that…I hope you leave this place a changed shaymin. I think you can change, and do great things to atone for your crimes. And when that happens…I hope we can meet again. …We won't have the same relationship again. That's not possible anymore. But I do hope to see you again to see how you've changed."

Rain gave one last nod and said, "So I'll…see you later then," before beginning his walk home.

"…By the way, it wasn't Clover's Treasure I was after exactly," Skyla said one last thing before Rain left. "It's where Clover's treasure is located. Find that…and you'll figure out exactly what I was doing."


	22. A New Life to Live

Rain flew through the fresh morning air, feeling a lot lighter and buoyant than how he felt during previous days. As such, there was a spring in his flight as flew down closer to the ground, the Wigglytuff shaped building of Wigglytuff's guild right on the horizon. It didn't take long before he hovered over the wooden grate where the sentry post lied and where Rain could announce his presence to the guild.

"Footprint detected, footprint detected!" Rain heard Diglett call from below.

"Who's footprint, who's footprint?" Loudred's voice came next.

"The footprint belongs to…Rain, the shaymin," Diglett called out next. "The footprint belongs to Rain, the shaymin!"

"Rain?" Rain heard Axle and Eon's voice call out next.

Rain chuckled before looking at the guild doors, which were still covered in metal bars to block anyone from coming in. It only took a couple seconds, though, for those metal bars to be sent through the floor. When they were no longer blocking the door to the guild, Axle and Eon came running out to see Rain.

"Rain, you're back!" Eon said cheerfully. "Finally, you're back! Good to see you again!"

Axle crossed his arms and nodded, his face showing his usual emotionless expression. "So, how was your trip?" Axle asked. "Did you find the answer you were looking for?"

Rain smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I did," he said. "I thought long and hard about who I really wanted to be. And when I really thought about it, I realized what my problem was." Rain's smile turned into a frown. "The way I've been living up till now, I initially lived my life that way because I wanted to emulate the life I felt Skyla wanted me to live. That was my motivation. But now…I can't really follow that motivation anymore. So I had to find a new reason to live my life like this. And I figured out that reason."

Rain smiled once again. "When I think about who I was, I was too timid and nervous to make any difference. I couldn't do anything. But now…I've grown stronger. I've seen a lot more and I have the strength to make a difference. That's why I want to continue living how I used to until now, just with a different motivation. It's no longer because Skyla would want me to live like that, but because I want to live like that. I like who I am now. So that's who Rain is going to be."

Axle gave a soft smile. "So, not much is going to change then, is it?" the riolu asked.

"Not exactly," Rain said. "I don't think I can exactly say I'm completely unchanged by everything that happened. But…I don't want to completely change myself. It's not like I need to completely reinvent myself. I'll just keep living like I always have, come what may with whatever changes happen."

Eon nodded and smiled once again. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you've finally figured out what you want."

Rain nodded. "Yeah, I have. There's just…one last thing I need to do before I'm 100% again."

Axle put on his usual neutral expression, nodded to Rain. "Alright, come on inside then," the riolu said. "We'll tell you what we've learned about Clover's treasure so far."

Axle and Eon walked inside the guild, Rain following close behind. Axle and Eon lead him to the depths of the guild, to the earth covered crew rooms where Axle and Eon once lived. There, sitting against the vine filled and earth covered, were four different items. Rain recognized two of them, the ancient TM for toxic and the golden sphere with the two runes on the top. Next to them as well, though, was a strange pink orb that didn't look like any of the ones Rain was used to and water inside a tear-shaped bottle. Rain looked over these items before looking back at Axle and Eon.

"So uhh…what exactly are these?" Rain asked.

"That's the first thing we tried to find out," Eon explained. "It took a lot of research, we had to go through both the libraries of here and Shaymin Village, but I'm pretty sure we've figured out what each of these items are called." Eon pointed at the water in the bottle. "This is something known as Mystic Water. It was apparently used in the Era of Humans to enhance Water-Type attacks. The water in there is supposed to be still pure, even after the eras have passed. They say because it comes from the purifier of lakes, Suicune, herself."

"Water that comes from Suicune herself?" Rain asked. "Wow, sounds impressive. What else do we have here?"

"The orb in the middle is something called a Life Orb," Eon said. "It's…actually a pretty dangerous item, if what we've found out about it is right. The Orb powers up whoever holds it by quite a bit, but it also drains the user's life energy by doing so. Apparently, it's so dangerous that most Life Orbs were smashed generations ago to keep any Pokémon from using it and draining their life-force. It's also against the law to hold one so…we might want to get rid of it after we're done here."

Rain inadvertently took a step back at the thought of such a dangerous item. "O-oh," Rain said. "That's…interesting."

"Finally, that gold sphere thing is called a GS ball," Eon finished. "That's the object we know the least about. All we could find about it was some weird scrap of paper with a rumor on it that's…almost too strange to believe. There's a rumor that the thing used to contain a Celebi."

"A Celebi?" Rain asked. "Are you sure?"

"As I said before, it's only a rumor," Eon quickly stated. "Beyond that, we don't really know much else. But that's what these three items are said to be."

"And the fourth is obviously an outdated TM for Toxic," Axle said as a reminder.

"So…these are the four items that Clover left behind as clues to her treasure," Rain mused. "Hmm…but…what do these thing exactly mean? I don't get what these clues are supposed to lead to."

"We've figured out so far that these objects all come from the Era of Humans," Eon said. "That's where we got the information for the three objects we didn't know about and TMs are a relic from that time anyways. That, and they seem to have themes of death and rebirth. Toxic and the Life Orb drain life energy away while the Mystic Water and GS Ball bring to mind Celebi and Suicune, wo are in charge of purifying water and reviving dead forests respectively."

"That's interesting," Rain mused. He looked at the riolu. "Axle, I assume you've used your Dimensional Scream on the two items, right?"

Axle nodded before crossing his arms. "The visions were pretty similar to the one I got when I used my Dimensional Scream in Purification Chamber 11. I got two each time, one where Clover is coming to the area and looking at it all impressed, then the one where she seems to be weary and is just silently placing the item. I'm still no closer to understanding why the sudden change in her behavior between the two visions and I don't think I'm going to get anymore from my Dimensional Scream."

"So…where does this lead us?" Rain asked.

"We're not completely sure," Eon said. "There's a clue somewhere here. We know that. We're just not sure how to find it yet. We still haven't figured that part out."

"Hmm…" Rain closed his eyes and thought about things for a few seconds. "Have you guys heard any rumors as to where Clover's Treasure might be?" Rain asked while he was thinking. "Because when I talked to Skyla in jail, she implied that she knew. So there must be some sort of rumor or something as to where Clover left her treasure."

"None on this continent," Eon said. "We even asked Elder Hedge and he didn't think of anything. Skyla might have heard of it on a different continent, though."

Axle closed his eyes and crossed his arms. "…This thought might be insane, but what if we need to combine these items somehow?" Axle asked. "Like, for example, using the Mystic Water to clean off the TM or one of the orbs?"

Rain turned around to look at Axle in surprise, and upon doing so noticed that Eon had the same reaction. Despite the perturbed looks Axle was getting, he still retained his emotionless face as he looked on the two. The only change in his stance was for him to slightly shrug his shoulders.

"It was just a thought," Axle said to explain himself. "These items are ancient, so a part of the puzzle might be cleaning them to revert them back to their previous condition. Especially that Toxic TM, which has gotten a lot of scratches on it. It's texture while holding it also feels different from most TMs, possibly because it has some sort of substance on it. And I believe I did mention this might be insane. But it might also be the only way forward. We have some water that's apparently 'mystical.' Perhaps we should use it."

"I…suppose that might work?" Eon said, though her ears were flopped down and she didn't look particularly ok with the idea.

Axle picked up on that with a simple look in her direction and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I just…I don't feel right using a precious relic to clean off something," Eon said. "This is a valuable object from history, something that you're not going to find anywhere else. And here we are, suggesting that we use it for some cleaning. We're not even really sure whether this will work or not. The idea doesn't sit right with me."

"Sorry Eon…but I'm siding with Axle in this one," Rain said. "I need to know where Clover's treasure is. So if there's a chance it could work, then I'm willing to take it."

Eon sighed. "I guess I'm outvoted then," she said sadly. "Alright fine. I don't like this idea, but we'll try cleaning off the TM with the Mystic Water."

Axle, being the only one not on four paws, was the one to grab the Mystic Water and the TM. He quickly tipped the tear shaped bottle over the TM and poured the sparkling clear water over the TM, making sure to do it in a circular motion to cover as much of the TM as possible with the water. It was only a few seconds until the water from the bottle ran dry.

While he was doing so, he said, "Hey Rain, would you mind using your Psychic to rub the water across this thing?" Axle asked. "We don't have any cloths with us and I'd rather not try rubbing it with my paws."

"On it," Rain said.

The shaymin walked close to the TM in Axle's hand, his eyes glowing purple as he started using his psychic energy. Being careful to only hold the water with his Psychic, Rain rubbed it across the TM over and over again. He also made sure to get the back of the TM as well with his Psychic rubbing. As he did so, the purple streaks that were once on the TM started disappearing until they were completely gone.

"Wh-what?!" Eon yelled as she wanted the purple streaks disappear with the water. "So wait…this isn't a TM for Toxic then?"

"How can you tell anyway?" Axle asked. "I've never understood that."

"TMs of different types each have colored lines around them representing that type," Eon explained. "So it's by seeing what pattern and color the lines are that one can tell which TM is which. The pattern and colors used to be for Toxic but now…" Eon waited for all the purple to be brushed off and the TM to be completely clean before continuing. "I…don't really know which TM this is."

"Well, there's one way to find out," Axle said. He put the empty bottle down before holding the TM in both his paws and closing his eyes. He continued closing his eyes for a few seconds before opening them up again. "…I heard a voice in my head," Axle said. "Clover's voice, in fact."

"Really?" Rain asked. "What is she saying."

"That's the odd part," Axle said, looking at both his friends. "I couldn't understand a word she said. The voice sound similar enough to what I heard, but the language is foreign. It's odd, because I could understand her perfectly in my visions, but here and now…nothing."

"Would you mind giving me the TM?" Eon asked. "Maybe I can figure out something."

Axle nodded before handing the TM to Eon. The eevee also closed her eyes when she held onto the TM and mused for a few minutes, humming a single note all the while. She had her eyes closed for much longer than Axle did, to the point where both he and Rain were starting to get worried about her. But she didn't close her eyes indefinitely, and they opened up rather quickly after the two boys got worried.

"I think I've figured it out," Eon said when she opened her eyes. "The language is the Ancient Language."

"Could you explain in more detail?" Axle asked.

Eon nodded. "Do you remember the Unown runes in the Hidden Highland?" Eon asked Axle. She looked towards Rain. "It was before we met you when we were working on the Time Incident. Within the Hidden Land where Dialga and Temporal Tower are."

"Yeah, I saw those once myself," Rain said. "But that's beside the point. What about them?"

"The Ancient Language is the same language those Unown runes are written in," Eon explained. "It's a script from a long time ago. We're not sure exactly where it dates to, but if you look into old ruins, that's generally the language you'll find most written text in. Our best guess on the date is sometime after the Era of Humans but before the start of the earliest known organizations and governments, since records we get from them are in a different language, one closer to ours."

"Can you translate it?" Rain asked.

"I have been working on learning different languages just in case of a situation where we might need it for an exploration," Eon said. "While I'm not even close to perfect at it yet, I'll see what I can do to get a translation. It'll take me a bit, though."

"Still…the Ancient Language," Axle mused. "If Clover speaks in that, then why did I understand her perfectly in my vision?"

"Maybe Clover's bilingual?" Eon offered up a suggestion. "When you heard her, she might have used her preferred language, which is something closer to ours, while the voice she somehow recorded into the TM used a language she might have thought would live on to future generations. Or maybe one she decided to use specifically to make things cryptic to keep those unworthy from stealing her treasure."

"Thinking about it, we still know very little about the Dimensional Scream and how it works," Axle thought out loud as well. "It might not be out of the realm of possibility that it allows me to understand languages I wouldn't normally."

"We'll have to figure that out later," Rain said. "For now though…Eon, how long do you think it will take until you translate what the TM said?"

"Probably a day at best?" Eon said, unsure in her own words. "Honestly, hearing the Ancient Language and translating it is much more difficult than translating it with the text in front of me. I'm going to have to try writing it down before translating it, which might take a while. I'll see if anyone in the guild can help me, but I can't imagine this not being a slow process."

"We'll get prepared in the meantime," Axle concluded. "I want to manage our inventory anyways, since I haven't had a good chance to after our fight with those outlaws between recovering and researching. We'll meet you back here tomorrow morning and see what progress you've made."

* * *

Unfortunately for Eon, it took her a lot longer to translate the text than she first thought. She got help from the guild and their archives relating to the Ancient Language, that wasn't the problem at all. The problem for Eon was getting the text written down in a way that was both readable and translatable.

Eon did her work on the bottom floor of the guild right on the red carpet in front of the Guildmaster's chamber. She had a TM in one paw and a pencil in her other paw and was concentrating hard on what the TM was saying. It would take her long lengths of time before she was able to write down one word, and until that she just sat there with her eyes closed. Once she did it was translated in only a couple of minutes, but it took lengths to get that far. Because of the amount of mental energy it took for Eon to write down these words, Axle forced her to take constant breaks as well. So progress was slow and tedious.

Eventually though, nearly half a week later, Eon finally finished her translation process. So she brought both Axle and Rain into their old crew rooms. There, she had a paper with her finished translation notes stacked next to the four items relating to Clover's Treasure.

"Sorry it took so long," Eon apologized. "This was a really difficult translation."

"It's alright, Eon," Axle said. "So, what does the TM actually say?"

Eon walked over to the back wall, grabbed the piece of paper, and then waked back to the entrance where Axle and Rain were waiting. Holding the paper in front of her face, Eon read out loud what was written on there. Though while she was beginning to read it, Axle and Rain noticed a blush on her face. It quickly became apparent where it came from as soon as she started reading it.

" _You who seeks my treasure, the power of the sun that will light your way into a brighter future. Uhh…what's up? Ugg…I'm horrible at all these cryptic mystical clue things,_ " Eon read and as she read it, Axle and Rain took a step back.

"Is that what's really said?" Axle asked.

"Now you know why it took so long," Eon said, looking away from the paper for a bit. "I kept wondering whether I got the translation wrong or something. But no matter how much I went through it, trying to see what I'm missing, I still got the same answer. Any possible variances over what it says makes even less sense."

"Well…keep going," Rain said. "Maybe we can still get an idea of where Clover's treasure is."

"A-alright," Eon said. She picked back up the paper and continued reading.

" _Anyways, my name is Clover. But…I guess if you're hearing this now, you probably already know who I am. Unless you just grabbed these random items and somehow figured how two of them work. Ugg…whatever. Let's just skip to the point. If you seek my treasure, you need the remaining two items. Hold you the Orb of Death above your head in the western sea when the day is waning or the Orb of Rebirth above your head in the eastern sea when the day is born anew. Then, the path to the treasure will open for you. Present the four items to the guardian and you'll have access to the treasure."_

"Uhh…" Eon blushed a bit harder before continuing. " _And would you hurry up and do so already? I don't know how long until you found these items, but I'm probably bored out of my mind right now! So get moving!"_

"That's…an interesting way to end your message," Axle said.

"Well at least now we know what we need to do," Rain said. "To find where Clover's treasure is, we need to find some sort of 'western' or 'eastern' sea. Then we go there either day or night and hold up either the Life Orb or the GS Ball. So…how are we going to do that?"

"Well, the area between here and the continent to the north of us might be the place to go," Eon said. "It's less of a sea and more of an ocean, but that might be a translation difference. I don't know whether it's western or eastern, though, without a clear view of how the whole world works. So…"

"Great, sleeping on Lapras sounds like fun," Axle groaned. "200 Poké says we're holding the GS Ball in the morning."

"I guess we're trying it out then, aren't we?" Rain said. Despite the thought, though, Rain was smiling. They finally found a way to figure out where Clover's treasure was. Soon, he would find the last thing he needs to fully understand Skyla's motivations.

* * *

As Axle guessed, they needed to wait until the next morning before they could do anything. The Life Orb did nothing but shine a bit brighter in the evening sun, so they had to sleep on Lapras's back and wait until the morning before they were able to do anything. The next morning, though, Axle held the GS Ball aloft in the morning sun and a bright golden light surrounded it. That light sent another beam of light on the horizon, which Lapras immediately followed while it was still showing.

After a few hours of surfing across the ocean, they saw an island appear on the horizon of the ocean. The island was filled with trees as far as the eye could see, and they all stood large and proud. As they got closer, they also realized that there was no shoreline for them to get into the island from. There were only cliffs surrounding the island from their side.

"This place…what is this place?" Axle asked.

"I don't think it's written on any maps we have," Eon chimed in. "And I've never heard of an island with as rough of cliffs as this one. Should we go around the island and try and find a good landing point?"

"We should probably fly up," Axle said. "We don't know exactly where it is but, I imagine if we keep going in this direction, we'll find our destination. However, if we try and surf around the island to try and find a way up, we might get turned around and lose sight of our destination. We don't even know how large this island is."

"Alright, I guess I'm taking you both up, then," Rain said with a nod. "Lapras, will you be good here?"

"I'll be fine," Lapras said. "Just signal me with a shot in the air when you're ready to return back to Treasure Town."

Rain nodded and, once he was done, he took off from Lapras's shelled back. The shaymin, once in the air, spun around and around so he could stir up the wind. The vortex of wind he produced managed to get Axle and Eon off of Lapras and into the air. Rain then took the two above the cliffs and into the slick grass on the heavily forested island.

"Hmm…this grass feels really wet," Eon mentioned as she felt a large blade of grass that went over her head. "I mean, I know about dew, but this is a little much for dew."

"Also all the flora and fauna here are larger than average," Axle said, his arms crossed as he looked around. "The trees go high into the sky, the grass is larger than us, and I'd hate to see what the flowers here look like."

"Makes you feel kinda small," Rain said.

"…I got it!" Eon suddenly shouted, causing Axle and Rain to both look in her direction. She was still inspecting that same blade of grass.

"Got…what exactly?" Axle asked.

"The Spring of Evolution," Eon said, turning to face Axle and Rain. "The dew on this grass feels similar to the waters of Luminous Spring. I know because I've felt the waters several times while growing up. You can sort of feel the energy flowing from the water, same as the Luminous Spring."

"Hmm…" Axle mused. He walked over to the nearest tree and placed his paw on it. "It's a lot thinner here, but I do feel something wet hidden in this tree. It might be possible that water similar to the Luminous Spring is the life blood of this island, so to speak."

"But why would it?" Eon asked. "The Luminous Spring is all the way back in the Mystifying Forest. We're leagues away from there. So how this this possible?"

"That's a question that can probably be answered by reaching the edge of this place, where the treasure is," Axle said. "My best guess is that we'll find things out there."

"Alright, let's move on then," Rain said. "Standing around here isn't going to help us find out anything. But once we reach where Clover's treasure is…I'm pretty sure we'll find all hour answers there."

Axle nodded. "Then through the forest we go."

The three began their walk through the forest and, aside from the fact that the flora and fauna around were extremely large and made walking through difficult at times, the walk was quite pleasant. The grass and trees didn't form corridors and rooms anywhere, nor where there any enemy Pokémon around to fight. The only fear they had was getting lost in the large threes, but that was it. The team only came to one conclusion as they walked.

"This place isn't a Mystery Dungeon," Axle summed up, his arms crossed as he walked.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Eon said, nodding in Axle's right ear. "It's…really odd though. Mystery Dungeons are so common for guarding things that I completely expected there to be one here. It feels…odd to be not exploring one for a change."

"I suppose you take what you can get," Rain said from behind. "At least we don't have to worry about running into enemies or anything. All we need to do is walk there. No fights, no randomly walking around, no nothing."

"Hmm…" Axle closed his eyes quickly and scanned the area's aura. "Still no enemies, but there's something off about this place. I can't exactly explain what it is, though. It feels like…there should be a lot more life, if that makes any sense."

"Uhh…Axle, have you seen the plant life around here?" Rain asked. "They're huge. Unless you're talking about Pokémon, I don't think more life is needed."

"That might be it," Axle said. "It is way too quiet around here. But…there's something about its aura that's just off. I can't figure out what it is, though."

"I agree, though," Eon said. She looked around quickly as she walked. "There's something creepy about how silent this place is. It's so odd. Normally, treasures are placed at the end of a Mystery Dungeon to protect them from your average Pokémon. Then, if possible, they try and layer it under tons and tons of puzzles to keep even more Pokémon from getting in. Granted, you have to know about Clover's Treasure and go through four different dungeons to get here in the first place, but it's still odd."

"Perhaps one final trial awaits ahead of us," Axle said. "We aren't at the end yet."

Rain nodded and said, "Yeah, you're right. Skyla said I would know why she was after Clover's treasure when I find where it's located. Since I still have no clue, there must be something ahead."

They nodded to each other and, with another bound of resolve, doubled their efforts to reach the end of the forest. They quickly walked in silence for what felt like a long time, working their way through the thick grass and trees. It took them a while, but eventually they reached the edge of the forest and into a clearing, and when they got there, they saw an amazing sight.

"Woah, are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" Rain asked.

"I…I…what is this?" Eon asked.

Even Axle's normally stoic face broke into amazement when he saw it.

In front of them sat a tree larger than any other tree they had ever seen before. It was still a distance away from them, but the tree looked like a large, imposing mountain on the horizon. It dwarfed everything else in this location of already large flora and fauna and it left Team Aura speechless for a length of time. And, not only it's size was impressive, but it had my different fruits within the green leaves that added many colors in the tree.

"I guess we found what we're looking for," Axle said, crossing his arms while trying to wipe his emotions off his face. "Any ideas of what this is?"

"I…think I have an idea," Eon said. "I want to get closer first, but I'm pretty sure I have an idea."

"You do?" Rain asked.

"Let's go," Eon said, a new sense of life and resolve in her voice. "We're almost there, you guys."

It still took them a bit, though. The size of the tree meant that they were still far away from it. However, their renewed energy and the lack of fear in their hearts allowed them to run in a completely broken formation towards the tree quickly. It was only a few minutes later when they finally reached the base of the tree in front of them.

"Alright, we're here now," Rain said. "But…what is this place."

"…I think it's the mythical Tree of Life," Eon said, awe on her face.

"The same one Chatot mentioned back then?" Axle asked. "The one the Pokémon Xerneas guards? That Tree of Life?"

"Are you sure?" Rain asked. "I mean, not that I don't believe you, but are you positive this is the Tree of Life?"

"Well, I would hope so," a loud echoing voice said. "Otherwise, I'm on the wrong place."

Suddenly a large, bright light appeared in front of Team Aura, blinding them completely. When the light disappeared, a large Pokémon stood in front of them. The Pokémon was deer-like, with a similar overall structure to Rain, but was larger and more majestic. It's body and tail was black while it's hooves were mostly black with a gold diamond pattern on the front of its forehooves and the back of its hindhooves. From its neck to its face, the Pokémon was blue. It had 8 antlers that were golden coming from the top of its head, those antlers tipped with red, green, and blue. The Pokémon looked so alien that neither Axle, Eon, or Rain could really speak at first when they say the Legendary Pokémon.

Eventually, though, Eon finally found the words to say. "A-are you Xerneas, the guardian of the Tree of Life?" Eon asked.

"Yes, I am Xerneas," the Pokémon said. "However, saying I am the guardian of the Tree of Life isn't exact. It would be more proper to say that I am the Tree of Life and the Tree of Life is me. We are one and the same. I am the life that flows through all of you Pokémon. And yes, that even includes you as a former human, Axle."

Axle took a step back and his nature made him suspicious. "How do you know about me?" Axle asked, his fists unconsciously clenching.

"As a force of nature, I know much about what goes on in this land," Xerneas said. "I also know the shifts and tides of what happens to nature. I knew about the attempted destruction of Temporal Tower and how two Pokémon suddenly appeared in this world around that time in order to prevent Temporal Tower from collapsing. I know about how, after doing so, your life force faded before being brought back a year later as Dialga saved you."

Xerneas noticed Axle was still uncomfortable and said, "Though, if it helps you, I do not have complete omniscience. I know of you, but I do not know you that well. I know that you exist, I would know it if you died, and in any way you interact with the balance of nature I would learn of that, but I have no knowledge beyond that."

"So that would mean you don't know why we're here?" Rain asked.

Xerneas turned his gaze towards Rain. "Exactly, no. However, I can give a good guess by your species. You are here seeking Clover's treasure, correct?"

Rain took a step forward towards the Legendary Pokémon. "Y-yes I am," Rain said. "My name is Rain and I've come looking for Clover the Adventurer's treasure. Is it here?"

"Before I can answer that, I must see the four items Clover left behind," Xerneas said.

Rain nodded before using his psychic power to open both Axle and Eon's bags, taking Clover's four items out of those bags. He levitated those items towards Xerneas and placed then at the Legendary Pokémon's hooves. Xerneas looked over those items and continued doing so for a long time. Axle, Eon, and Rain all looked at each other in confusion as to why Xerneas was spending an inordinate amount of time to examine the items. Axle eventually broke the silence.

"Is it really that difficult for you to look at those items and figure out they're the right one?" the riolu asked.

"Axle!" Eon reprimanded.

"I am not just looking at these items to make sure they're the right items," Xerneas explained, his voice unchanging despite Axle's rudeness. "There are other things that I need to check about these items. It's to both Clover and my benefit that her treasure goes to the right Pokémon."

"I…sorry," Axle said.

"In a way, you remind me of someone I knew years ago," Xerneas said to Axle. "He too felt duty-bound and focused on little else besides his duty, even to the point of repressing his former playful nature as too childish. Be careful not to let your duty prevent you from looking beyond that. His duty made him blind until it was too late."

"Wh-who?" Axle asked.

Xerneas shook his head. "Regardless, I am done." Xerneas looked up towards Rain. "You may proceed."

"'Proceed?'" Rain asked. "What do you mean by 'proceed?' Where am I going?"

"Clover, and her treasure, are both waiting for you within the Tree of Life itself," Xerneas said.

"Clover is still alive?!" Axle and Eon both suddenly said at that news.

Rain was much less surprised. "Wow, so Clover is still around," the shaymin said with an amazed chuckle. "I-I almost can't believe it. I'm about to meet someone who went through so many adventures and found so many amazing places. I…I have so many questions. Here is someone who lived so long and knows so much history and I'm about to meet them."

Axle crossed his arms. "I assume only Rain is allowed to go in?" he asked.

"That would be correct," Xerneas said. "Do not take this as a sign of distrust for you. You sacrificed much in order to keep the balance of nature intact and I have no reason to believe you would destroy it. However, my position as guardian of all life in this world does not allow me to take any chances, regardless of my personal feelings."

"I figured just about as much," Axle said. His eyes momentarily flashed to Eon's blue scarf with her old Relic Fragment's insignia on it. "We've dealt with things like that before."

"Don't worry for the safety of your friend," Xerneas said in an assuring voice. "Just like how you found no enemies on the way here, there are no enemies within the Tree of Life. Were either of that to be true, then the world would be nearing its end."

"It's too bad, but I suppose that's how it goes," Eon said. "Well Rain, say 'hi' to Clover for us, then."

"Alright, thanks," Rain said.

He walked forward, past Xerneas, and directly in front of the base of the three. The ground suddenly shook with powerful tremors as an opening into the Tree of Life opened up. Rain took one last look at his two friends, who were waving towards him, before walking into the tree itself. Once he walked inside, the tree closed itself behind him.

Inside the tree was red with what looked like multi-colored veins running throughout the trunk going across the walls, giving off a powerful life that made seeing the insides of the tree easy despite the lack of other lights. Rain could feel energy crawling all around him as he walked and examined the tree, the energy from the life-giving power. He couldn't help but look around in awe at the inside of the tree.

"Cool, right?" a voice coming from behind him asked.

Rain turned around to see a shaymin in their Sky Forme was right behind him. The shaymin had the same amulet around their neck that Axle described from his vision, but was also missing the bags that the riolu saw. Their eyes had several bags under them, making them look like they need years of sleep. They also staggered about as they walked up closer to Rain.

"I gotta admit, when I first came into this place, I was just as amazed as you," the shaymin said. "It's so bright and colorful, and if you were here back when I first was, it was even brighter and more colorful. The tree's lost a little bit of it's luster since then, but I'm glad you still find it beautiful."

"It's lost a bit of it's luster?" Rain asked, confused as to how the insides could be more colorful than it already is. "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't worry about it," the shaymin said. "Instead, let me offer a 'congratulations' to you for following my clues and finding this place. As you've probably guessed, my name is Clover. Back so many years ago, I wanted to explore the world and see what's in it since it changed so much from when I first came into this world. I found so many amazing areas and gained a lot of strange items. Even more than the ones you found to get to here."

"The Mystic Water, Life Orb, Toxic TM, and GS Ball, right?" Rain asked.

Clover nodded. "Yeah. I chose those items because they're all connected to life, death, and rebirth. It was supposed to be a clue that the final location for my treasure is in the tree of life, death, and rebirth. At least…that's what it was supposed to be."

She looked embarrassed and chuckled. "Might not have been the best clues in the world, but I worked with what I had. It was hard enough already to get Xerneas to let me live here in the first place, let alone make clues to lead someone here. You'd think he'd trust a war heroine who saved his life, but what's done is done."

"'War heroine?'" Rain asked. "You were in a war?"

"It was generations ago, long before your time," Clover said. "Again, not something you should worry about. I know, that's kinda hard to do. Wars are so uncommon, from what I heard, that you're probably wondering exactly what it was about. But…"

Clover sighed and looked sorrowful. "Sorry. I'm not allowed to talk about it. And even if I could…I honestly don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry I even brought it up."

"Well…" Rain wasn't sure how he should proceed, but he tried anyways. "My friend…he has the power to see visions of the past and future. And he saw two visions of you. In one you were excited and exploring and in the next you looked beaten down and half-dead. Was that because of the war? You don't have to tell me exactly what happened yet but…"

"Oh, your friend's a psychic?" Clover asked, amazed. "Anyways, yeah, that probably was me. I got a lot of scars from that war and…nothing was the same afterwards. I'm not going to say much more, but yeah. As you can see, it's been years but I haven't really recovered. And…I'm not going to either."

"Are you…?" Rain asked, but he wasn't able to finish that question. Luckily, Clover finished it for him.

"Sort of, sort of not," Clover said. "Because…reasons, my life energy is tied to the Tree of Life. But, since I don't want to take too much energy from the place, I'm only getting enough to sustain me. So I can't naturally recover like other Pokémon. And, if something were to happen to the Tree of Life well…you can guess what would happen to me."

"Oh," Rain said. He quickly decided to lighten the mood by saying, "Yeah well, if something were to happen to the Tree of Life, I think the world would have more to worry about then just losing you."

Clover chuckled too. "Yeah, you're right," she said. "Heh, let's hope that never happens." She chuckled a bit more before getting a little more serious. "Besides, I'm good. I've lived a long life and went on some amazing adventures. I saw the end of two different eras and lived through more than enough for a lifetime. I even learned some cool things. Like, did you know the original shaymin was created by Xerneas?"

"They were?" Rain asked.

"Yeah," Clover said enthusiastically. "They were created by Xerneas as a response to a large amount of gratitude someone gave to the land as a way of giving life to the barren land they called home. I'm not sure whether they were human or Pokémon though. Still, it's really interesting. That's another part of the reason why Xerneas let me come here."

"That…is really amazing," Rain admitted. "Thanks for telling me that."

"You're welcome," Clover said with a smile. "Anyways, living such a long life has given me so many opportunities…but I think I've seen enough of this world. After a while, it just loses its magic and wonder. I'm ready to be done with this life and onto my next great adventure, whenever that happens. I'm glad to just be here and pass on my legacy to the next generation. Which is what we're here for now."

"Oh yeah, you're treasure!" Rain remembered. "It's that amulet you wear, isn't it?"

Clover looked down at her amulet with a smile. "Yes, it is. It was one of my greatest finds. I found it in an abandoned ruin with these sun symbols everywhere. I'm sure in that vision your friend saw he noticed a mysterious light coming from this amulet, right? That light has some amazing properties. Chief among them being that it allows any shaymin wearing it to stay in their Sky Forme no matter what time of day it is."

"It can what?!" Rain asked, taking a closer look at that amulet.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Clover asked. "I couldn't believe it either. Thing is, I could never figure out why. It almost looks like it was made for a shaymin, combining our Gracedia Flower with the sun. It allows us to transform between forms. But there's something about it that doesn't make sense. I found a name along with the relic in that ruins. 'The Amulet of Solgaleo.'"

"Solgaleo?" Rain asked. "Is that…a Pokémon? Or was it a human? Maybe the name of a famous shaymin?"

Clover shook her head. "Heck if I know," she said. "I tried figuring out who this 'Solgaleo' was while I was out on my adventures, but nothing in the ruins gave me any indication nor did I find that name anywhere else. I doubt it's a shaymin either. I don't know if that's changed in later generations, but around my time, shaymin were typically named after flowers or sky phenomena depending on whether they preferred Land Forme or Sky. So I have no idea who Solgaleo is."

"I still think it's possible, but you're right," Rain admitted. "Shaymin still are named like that. Makes you wonder, though, what Solgaleo is."

"I know I can't ask you this, and don't think of this as a condition for taking my treasure, but if you can, would you mind looking into that?" Clover asked. "I've always been curious over where this amulet came from and it's the one regret I have."

Rain nodded, determination in his eyes. "I will," Rain said. "Me and my friends are all part of an Exploration Team. So we're constantly exploring the world to try and find its secrets. One of my friends is even interested in history, so she'll be excited to take on this challenge."

Clover gave a soft smile and nodded. "Thanks then." The ancient shaymin closed her eyes and a purple psychic aura surrounded her amulet. With an audible click, the amulet came off of her neck and floated over towards Rain. Rain felt the amulet surround his neck before another click came, the amulet having finally found its new home.

Rain took in the feel of having the Amulet of Solgaleo on his neck for a few seconds. Despite being jewelry, he felt it wasn't too much heavier than a scarf or something like that. He noticed the impact it had on his neck, but he was sure that he would get used to it and he got the feeling that it wouldn't impact his flying a whole lot. The only slight problem he could imagine having with it was the metal getting cold during winter or when exploring someplace cold, but considering he felt a warm energy coming from it, he doubted that would end up the case. All in all, Rain smiled, pleased with the treasure he got.

"Thank you," Rain said. "I hope you use this treasure to help with my explorations. It'll be nice not having to lug around tons of Gracedia Flowers."

"You might want to keep one or two on hand just in case you get frozen or something," Clover said. "It can't stop you from reverting back to Land Forme when frozen and trust me, it kinda sucks when that happens."

Rain chucked. "Good to know."

Suddenly Clover looked up. "Alright Xerneas, we're done here," she said in a loud voice that echoed off the tree walls and into the sky. "You can open up to let…" Clover paused for a moment before her eyes widened. She looked back down at Rain in embarrassment. "Sorry, I forgot to ask your name," she said. "Hehe…oops."

"My name is Rain," Rain said. "It's alright. Though for a mythical guardian of a treasure, you're not exactly what I expected."

"I've been told," Clover admitted. She looked back up to talk to Xerneas. "You can open up to let Rain here back out now!"

The ground tremored once again and light poured into the tree as it opened up to allow Rain exit. Rain was temporarily blinded by the sunlight and had to stand still for a few minutes while his eyes adjusted. Once he did, he saw that the light pouring in was red, suggesting that he had been there to near sundown. Rain took a step forward to leave, but turned to face Clover to ask one more question before leaving.

"But before I go, where did you find this amulet anyways?" Rain asked. "If you tell me that, I can go there and see if I can find more info on it."

"It's called the Ruins of Sunne," Clover said. "As for where it is, I honestly couldn't tell you anymore. It's was years between when I found that place and started staying here, the landscape changed so much since then. I can't even imagine how it changed since I came here. You'll have to find it on your own. Think of it like our own adventure."

"Well, at least I have the name," Rain said. "Thanks. One more question before I go?"

"Depends on what it is, but sure," Clover said. "I can't stop you from asking."

"Well, in that vision a friend of mine had on you, you mentioned knowing humans back when they were still around, right?" Rain asked. "Why aren't there any humans anymore? Do you know?"

Clover shook her head. "Sorry, I can't answer that. Well, rather, I don't want to answer that. For a number of reasons. First off, it's really not something I want to talk about. Second…I'm honestly not exactly sure about all the details of what happened. It was such a chaotic time that I'm…not really sure what happened or why. One moment human life was vibrant, this world was full, everyone was happy and smiling and the next…"

Clover shook at the thought of what happened, her body trembling all over.

"Regardless, I'm sorry, I can't help you on that," Clover finally said. "I'm sorry. If you want to know the truth, you'll have to look somewhere else. You're explorers and adventurers. And you've got a long life to live. I'm sure you'll find the truth eventually."

"I suppose I shouldn't have expected to know that so easily anyways," Rain said. "Thanks for indulging at least."

Rain said one last farewell before walking towards the light and away from the tree. There, he saw his friends out there sitting next to each other in the glade. Eon had her eyes closed and looked to be enjoying the slight breeze, while Axle had arms crossed and his eyes closed in annoyance, probably due to a lack of patience. Xerneas, strangely enough, was nowhere to be found, nor were Clover's four items. Rain was disappointed about that at first, as he wanted to thanks Xerneas a bit more, but he hoped that Clover would do it for him. So instead he made his first priority walking up to his friends.

"Hey Axle, Eon," Rain said as he got close enough. "I'm back."

Axle and Eon both opened their eyes and looked up at Rain. "Oh hey Rain," Eon said cheerfully. "Wait…what's that on your neck?"

"So, that neckless was Clover's treasure then," Axle mused. "I thought it might have been, but to see it on you."

"Yeah, Clover gave it to me after I met her," Rain said. "It's something that can keep me in my Sky Forme regardless of what time of day it is. So we don't have to carry as many Gracedia Flowers anymore."

"Wow, that's amazing," Eon said, her eyes widening. "Thinking about it, Skyla liked being in her Sky Forme a lot, didn't she? Do you think that's why she was looking for Clover's treasure?"

"Maybe…" Rain mused. He quickly looked to his left at the Tree of Life. "But maybe not. I think I've got something else in mind for why Skyla wanted to come here."

"And what exactly is that?" Axle asked.

"Ehh, I might tell you guys later," Rain said. "For now though, we should probably head back. It's time we get back to our explorations again!"

"Well, you seem to be full of energy again," Axle said. "I guess these past trips have done a lot of good for you."

Rain took a deep, powerful breath, taking in all the fresh air around him as he could. "Yeah, I'd say so," he said. "Thanks for helping me with this, you guys. It's been a long road, but we're finally here."

"You're our friend, Rain, so we're glad to help in whatever way we can," Eon said.

Axle and Eon got up and joined Rain as the exploration team began their walk home. Rain smiled eye to eye as they did, the slight extra weight he had from the amulet Clover gave nothing compared to the weight that was lifted from his spirit. He was ready now, ready to fly his way into the future.


End file.
